Tempest & Rhapsody
by DragonMaiden
Summary: Sirius Black - the story of the funny-turned-tragic man, and the ones he loved. His family, for one. His friends, for another. It's all here - romance, humor, and drama. This fic is my baby. Nothing from OotP. Ch 17 up! Features newly-escaped Nude!Sirius.
1. The Confession

This introduction is exactly the same beginning chapter for "Couple Variations".  I've just decided to make it an entire separate story about Sirius and Damia.  The original into is still there, under "Couple Variations".   I didn't wait for anyone to recommend a Sirius/mystery girl fic, but since I adore Sirius, I went right ahead and wrote one anyway.  I just thought of the name "Damia" off the top of my head, but I thought it was pretty cool.  Also, I know that since this takes place around twenty years ago, girls probably didn't wear tank tops as pajama tops; I don't even know if tank tops had been invented then, so you might want to ignore that little fact.  It used to be called "Sirius and Virginia", but I put it though some major renovation because it was really lame before.  Tell me if I've succeeded in making it better...

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing Harry Potter, the amazing J.K does.  I own the character Damia, and everything else, which is nothing.  So far.

Okay, on with the fic!

~*~

_He stepped hesitantly into the almost-empty common room and his eyes immediately found her sitting alone in the large couch in front of the fireplace, staring into the flames.  It appeared that she had just gotten out of the shower.  Her wet, unbrushed hair was held up with a large clip; a small strand of her long bangs dangled in front of her face.  She was wearing some pajama bottoms and (since it was a warm night) a small tank top, which showed a great deal of her back and midriff._  Oh God, _he thought to himself,_ why does she have to look so beautiful, especially now, when no one else is here?   _He just stared at her for a few more minutes and, finally working up his courage, cleared his throat softly.  She blinked, almost as if breaking out of a trance.  Then, looking around to see who had made the noise, she saw him, and her eyes widened._

"Sirius!" Damia exclaimed softly in surprise, "I didn't see you there,"

"Sorry if I startled you," he said, "I just didn't want to wake anybody up."

"Yeah," she paused for a few seconds, "I couldn't sleep, so I just got up and took a shower.  It relaxes you somewhat, you know?"

"Oh, is that why you're up so late?  Or early, I should say," he said, smiling quietly, "It's almost three thirty!"

"Well, Sirius, what are you doing up then?" she chuckled softly, smiling also,

"I couldn't sleep either," He walked over and sat next to her on the large couch.  He didn't want to say he couldn't sleep because he had been thinking about her, so he came up with another excuse.  "James's snoring is enough to keep anyone awake."  

"Yeah, you should hear Lily.  She's not much better." She laughed softly, then was silent for a few minutes.  Then she shifted in her seat and said, "Hey, Sirius," 

"Mm hm?"       

"Does James ever talk about her in his sleep?"  She asked this with a sort of embarrassed smile, as if it was a slightly stupid question. "Because Lily says things about _him_ all the time," she added.

"Oh, yeah," he said, beginning to smile again at the random silly things his best friend mumbled in when he was sleeping, "You should hear the things he says sometimes.  I literally have to stuff my fist in my mouth to keep from laughing out loud!  'Lily!  Save me from the purple squirrels!'" 

"Yeah, Lily says things like that too," She began to laugh with him.  Once they had calmed their stifled giggles, Damia looked thoughtfully at the fire again.  "Hmm.  Don't you think they're a great couple, Sirius?  I mean, they've been going out since fourth year, and I've never seen them argue.  It would be great if they… I don't know… got married or something someday.  I can just picture them twenty years from now living in a big house with lots of kids…" She was looking at him out of the corner of her eyes and trying (unsuccessfully) to hide it.

"Hmm.  Wait, _WHAT?"_ he exclaimed suddenly, not hearing the first thing she said.  She looked at him in bewilderment.

"I just said that I can picture James and Lily in a big house with lots of kids someday," she said uncertainly, frowning slightly at him.  _What's his problem?_

"Oh.  Yeah," he said uneasily.  He thought at first that she had been talking about herself and him.  Durnit.  

She was still looking at him shrewdly out of the corners of her eyes.  Then she looked into the fire.

 _She has the most beautiful eyes_, Sirius thought to himself, _gray and smoky, with dark lashes…_ He shuddered involuntarily and turned toward the fire.  They were both silent for a few minutes. 

_What's the matter with him?_ Damia thought, _he's not normally like this at all … did I make him angry? How?  _She looked at his face in her peripheral vision. He was frowning, but he didn't seem angry.  No, he seemed … sad.  Just sad.  _Huh, I wonder what he's thinking about, _she wondered again.  _Me?  _She smiled a little grimly. _Yeah right, that'll never happen…_ That thought suddenly made her very unhappy.  

In truth, Sirius didn't know what to say.  How could he; he had never felt this way before about anyone.  The whole school knew him to be the ladies' man; flirting with almost every girl he saw, and Damia just laughed along with everyone else.  Of course, all his friends would have liked to see him to settle down with one nice girl, but they would never expect her to be the one closest to them all.  Damia and Sirius had always been seen just as partners-in-crime, just as friends; never a romantic item.  

When they had first met, way back in first year, everyone had teased them when they saw both of them together, but that was just fun and games.  Now they were in their seventh and final year, and all their friends had completely forgotten about it.  But the two of them hadn't.  At least Sirius knew he hadn't.  Now that he was older, he wished that the teasing remarks had been true.  Now he wasn't so sure if they ever would be.  His long silence must have made Damia even more suspicious that something was wrong, because she soon said,

"Sirius, is there something wrong?  You're never this quiet; it's making me nervous!" she gave him a tense giggle and one of her irresistible smiles.

"Huh?" he started, jerking out of his thoughts, "Oh, no, nothing's wrong.  I was just thinking.  About… things."

"Right.  Things."

"Yeah,"

"Yeah,"

They fell silent again.  Damia absently took the clip out of her long, light brown hair and started to brush it out.  Finally, after a few more minutes, Sirius couldn't bear the quiet any longer.  A little voice in the back of his head was yelling at him that this was the time to finally let her know the truth.  He had the strange feeling that this was going to be his only chance.  He took a deep breath and tried to shove all his fear aside, but he still couldn't speak without a noticeable quiver in his voice.

"D-Damia?"

She looked at him again with those gorgeous eyes.  He had heard somewhere that a person's eyes were the windows to their soul.  _They weren't far from wrong…_ he thought.  Her stare seemed comforting… reassuring almost. 

"Yes?"

He took another deep breath.  "Listen, Damia, there's something I've got to tell you,"

"Really?  Um, okay… go ahead," 

_How can she look so calm?_

"Okay," He cleared his throat, and brushed his black shaggy hair out of his eyes, "Do you remember way back in first year, when everyone used to tease us because we'd always hang out together?"

"Oh, yeah.  How could I forget?  They really had fun, didn't they?"  

"Yeah.  Well, did you… I mean… have you ever wished that… that what they said was true?"  She looked at him with a curious expression, and then widened her eyes a little, understanding.  

She gave a nervous little smile and looked thoughtfully at her knees, which she had drawn up onto the couch.  After a few seconds' pause, she said, very quietly,

"Yes,"  

That one little word rendered Sirius speechless.  He just couldn't believe it.  

_Yes?  Did she just say Yes?_  But then she continued:

"Yeah, I did.  I didn't realize it until a while afterwards, probably around fourth year when James and Lily started going out.  I remember when Lily first told me, she and I were in here—in the common room, right by the fire like we are now.  You and James were on the other side of the room, looking at us.  Lily seemed happier than I had ever seen her before, and she said 'The most amazing thing just happened!' and she looked over at James and you.  She didn't even have to say anything; I just knew.  Then James came over and gave her a kiss on the lips, right in front of the whole Gryffindor house.  Everyone was going crazy and cheering, because they had all been waiting for when James and Lily would finally get together.  Except you—you just stayed where you were, off to the side.  I saw you look at me, with a look kind of like you have now," she smiled, and he blushed, "Anyway, I noticed that, because usually you were the center of attention, and now you were just… detached.  That look… I didn't realize what it meant then, but I do now.  And well, that's when I think I… I fell in love with you…"

She looked away from him, not quite brave enough to look him in the eyes anymore, but continued talking.

"I love you, Sirius…  I love you so much.  I know I had never let anything on, but that was because I didn't think you felt the same way as me.  I mean I… I know we were friends since we were kids, and I knew that would seem weird if I suddenly came out and said 'Hey, by the way, I love you!' but it always seemed that you were perfect for me, with your sense of humor and… and just being a great friend… and I thought that I would be perfect for you, since I always seemed to know what you were thinking and I knew when you were in a bad mood and I knew what to say that would make you feel better… but you were always hanging around with other girls, and I knew that I must have just seemed like one of the boys to you… and I seriously don't think I'd be able to bear it that way…" She finally came to the end of her breath, and to Sirius's utter shock, her eyes welled up and large tears started to fall down her cheeks.

Sirius blinked in bewilderment.  Partly from shock, and partly because he didn't know what else to do, he patted her awkwardly on the back as she started to cry, and made an effort to talk to her.

"You… you really mean that?" that being all he could say.

"Every word," she said, her throat sounding tight.  She continued to cry quietly for a little while, trying to wipe as much tears as she could from her eyes as if not wanting him to see, while he just ran his hand over her back silently.  Finally she stopped and sat up, her eyes still very red, both from crying and from the embarrassment of finally letting him know of her deepest feelings for him.

When she finally got the courage to look at him quietly in the eyes, Sirius suddenly realized that this Damia sitting next to him was a totally different Damia from the one he once knew.  She wasn't the Damia who was always laughing her snorting laugh, making fun of Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, Narcissa Boyle, and the rest of Snape's circle of friends.  Not the Damia who had helped him get over his first breakup with a girl back in third year.  Not the Damia with whom he had plotted so much trouble against the Slytherins.  She wasn't the Damia he had fallen in love with, but a new one, suddenly seeming much older and grown up.  She wasn't the scared little girl who he had helped get on the train at the beginning of first year; she was a seventeen year old adult, who was now nervously biting her lips.  His surprise at her change added to his shock at her answer.  Finally he unstuck his throat.

"You know," he started uneasily, "it's not like I really liked all those girls.  I mean, they were okay, but I didn't really respect them as I respected you.  I never knew how you felt, and if I did I… I-I would have definitely spent much more time hanging out with you instead.  I love you too, Damia, more than I would ever be able to tell you."

She widened her eyes a little more and looked away.    
          "Well," she finally said, "then we've been wasting a lot of time, haven't we?"

Sirius just gave a lopsided smile with one side of his mouth and ran his hand repeatedly through his disheveled hair until Damia shifted over on the couch, so she was leaning right up against him.  She touched her hand to his cheek and turned his head to face her.  She moved her hand down his side until it crept through under his arm and embraced his back.  He stared captivated into her beautiful gray eyes, and then down to her lips, looking perfect except for the tiny white scar running across her upper one that she had gotten from falling through the ice while skating one time.  

Then Damia leaned over to his lips and kissed him.  Her other arm ran over his shoulder and around his neck, while he ran his hands through her now-dry hair.  She smelled beautiful, like lilac soap and warm sunshine.  

_Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening_, he thought, _I've been dreaming about this for years, and now it's actually happening!  Whoops, you're thinking too much, Sirius old buddy, this isn't the time to think too much.  Just enjoy the moment… _

After a while, they broke apart and lay down, cuddled up against each other on the couch. Damia's head rested on Sirius's chest, and her arm was still draped across his shoulder.  She could hear his heart beating heavily through his shirt.  They didn't speak, but breathed softly.  A few minutes of silence went by before Sirius spoke.

"So this means you'll go out with me, right?"  

She smiled.

"What do you think?"  

They both fell silent again, too happy for words.  They fell asleep against each other, to be woken only by the bemused looks of all their friends in the morning.


	2. Discoveries and Discussions

DISCLAIMER: Everything Harry Potter belongs to wonderful J.K.  Damia belongs to me, and Kalli belongs to me.  I like the name Kalli.  Did you know it's Greek for 'beautiful'?  Yup.  I'm smrt. S-M-R-T!  S-M-R-T!

THE DISCOVERY AND DISCUSSION AT BREAKFAST

Remus slowly opened his eyes and tried ineptly to turn over to glance at the clock on the seventh year boys' dormitory wall.  Instead he succeeded in rolling over out of the bed and onto the floor.  Mumbling some muffled curse words under his breath, he tried to untangle his sheets that had gotten wrapped around him in the night.  As he was dealing with that while still rubbing sleep out of his eyes, he looked up at the clock.  Five-thirty A.M.  _Ack!_  He thought, _still too early_.  He was just about to go back to sleep when he noticed that the bed on the other side of the room, Sirius's bed, was empty.  He turned to the bed next to his and tried to shake the person in it awake, while at the same time trying to be quiet, as this was a Sunday morning and everyone was trying to get some extra sleep. 

"James!" he whispered loudly, "James, wake up!"

"Mmmph… huh… wha-wha-what?" James mumbled sleepily, unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn.

"Sirius is gone, and he didn't take the invisibility cloak,"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Morning, everyone," Lily said in mock optimism as she blinked groggily, "Hey, Damia's not in our dormitory."

James, Peter, and Remus had walked down to the common room and had met Remus's girlfriend Kalli Pullen and James's girlfriend Lily Evans standing near the entrance to their staircase, talking softly. 

"Really?  Sirius is missing from ours," said James, smiling at Lily,  "What can they be up to this time?" 

Sirius and Damia had been known to sneak out in the night to pull a few pranks on the Slytherins, but they had never been gone all night.

"You don't think they got into trouble, do you?" said Peter nervously. 

"Nope," said Kalli, pointing to a mop of black hair on one of the arms of the couch by the fire.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ummm, Sirius? Hellooo?  Wake up!" 

Sirius woke up groggily, but didn't open his eyes.  _Urgh_, he thought unhappily, _it was all a dream.  I knew it was too good to be true.  I knew it, I knew it, I knew it.  Why does this always have to happen?_

"Hey, Sirius, come on!  Wake up!"

_See, that's James, telling me I'll be late for breakfast._

"Damia!" said a female voice, "Damia, what's going on?"

_Damia? _

Sirius's eyes popped open.  Everything seemed dim for a few minutes, but as soon as his eyes focused, he saw that Lily, James, Remus, Peter, and Kalli were all standing over him, wearing their pj's, bathrobes, and slippers, looking very puzzled and amused.  He looked down at Damia, who was still asleep on his chest and still had her arm over him.  

Then he remembered, and he smiled.

"Uh, Sirius?  What's… uh… what's going on?" James asked, still looking confused.  Sirius saw that Lily and Kalli were looking at him wonderingly, and whispering to themselves.  Remus and Peter just stared at him.  Sirius kept smiling.

"You will never believe this," he said,

Everyone raised their eyebrows, and Lily and Kalli began to smile too. 

"Hey, Damia, wake up," Sirius said softly into Damia's ear.  Her eyes fluttered open.

"Ohh," she sat up quickly, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.  "Good morning, all!" she said cheerfully, smiling at Sirius.

"Uh, good morning," said Remus, "What have you two been doing?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Wait, you haven't been doing, uh, you know," Kalli said, jokingly, "'Cause Damia's a really nice girl, and if you've been, well…"

"Why does everyone automatically assume that we've been… doing things we shouldn't be doing?" Sirius asked with mock indignation, "Can't a guy and a girl just talk about things alone… in front of a warm fireplace… in the middle of the night?"

"In the wee hours of the morning, actually," interrupted Damia, yawning, "Honestly, I can't believe you guys—get your minds out of the gutter!"

"So then, what were you actually doing in the wee hours of the morning… alone?" Lily said in a pretend parental manner,

"Well," said Damia, suddenly looking serious, "We had a talk last night you people probably think we would never have."

Everyone suddenly seemed more curious and amazed, if that was possible.

"Sirius, why don't you tell," said Damia.

"Well, around three-thirty last night… or, this morning I guess, I walked down here to find our lovely Damia sitting in front of the fire alone…" He told them the gist of what they had talked about, minus the really personal bits, and finally said, "So, what I'm trying to say here is…"

"We're going out!" Damia interrupted, smiling broadly.

            Five mouths dropped open.

"_No way_!" all of them exclaimed.

"Way." Sirius and Damia both said. 

The others continued to be speechless for a while.  Finally, Peter said in astonishment:

"You're _not_ serious!"

"Nope, but I am!" Sirius said.

"No, I mean, you've never seemed to give going out a minute's thought before—I mean, you've never mentioned anything more… serious…  than just hanging out and causing trouble!"

"You're going out?" James asked again.

"That would appear to be true," said Sirius, sounding important, "We actually discovered that we've loved each other ever since fourth year, when you guys just started going out." He pointed to James and Lily.

"So, what do you all think?" Damia said, grinning.

"You're going out?" James said again.  Everyone looked at him and didn't answer.

"Well," said Kalli slowly, ignoring James, "It was a shock for us to find out, I'll give you that!"

"Yeah, I just… I just can't believe it!  And I thought I knew you guys!" Lily added.

"Wow, Sirius man, I'm just… shocked.  I mean I—I would never have expected it!" said James, still totally astonished, "Though now that I think of it, I was stupid not to think this would happen eventually."

"Well, James and I have something important to announce as well, not to take you away from the spotlight, Sirius." said Lily.

Sirius held up his hands courteously. 

"Okay.  We're getting married and James wants you to be his best man." Lily said quickly.

Now it was Sirius and Damia's turn to gape, along with Peter, Remus, and Kalli.

"Y-your best man?"  Damia stammered, "I mean, y…you're getting _married_?  At _seventeen_?"

"Actually yes.  James asked me the day before yesterday," said Lily, blushing.  

Sirius shot up off the couch, forcing Damia off his lap and onto the floor.  

"OW!" Damia hollered in pain as she hit the floor.  Sirius suddenly realized that he had knocked her off, so he quickly bent over and pulled her up, brushing her off.

"Sorry babe!  I didn't mean to!  Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, Sirius, whatever.  Look, James, um…" She didn't finish, because James had just grabbed Lily and gave her an overly theatrical dip and a passionate kiss.  They continued on like this for a few minutes while everyone else watched helplessly.  Finally Kalli spoke up.

"Hey, everyone, I also have an announcement to make!" Everyone, including Remus, stared at her, wondering what to expect this time.

"I'm pregnant!"

"W-_what_?" Remus exclaimed, his eyes slightly bugging out, "How?  That's impossible!  Unless… you cheater!"

"Relax, Remus!  I lied.  I'm not really.  Just everyone else seems to be getting attention," Kalli muttered in false jealousy, "Honestly, you'd look up if I told you someone wrote 'GULLIBLE' on the ceiling." 

"Oh.  Don't _do_ that to me!"

"Really, you almost had me going!" Lily said suddenly, breaking away from James, who was now trying to nibble her neck.

"Hey, hey, James, save it for the honeymoon… oh," Sirius began, and then realized, smiling.

Everyone noticed this, and began to giggle uncontrollably. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Later on during breakfast, Professor Dumbledore made an announcement,

"Excuse me all seventh years, may I have your attention please?" Everyone quieted down.  "As the school year is nearing an end, and with it your education at Hogwarts, we have decided to hold an end-of-the-year graduation ball as a special treat for all of you," 

The Marauders and Damia, Lily, and Kalli all smiled with excitement.  Now they knew why their usual school letters they had gotten last summer had requested that they bring dress robes.  

"The dance will take place on Saturday, the 26th of May, beginning at six o'clock in the evening.  A notice will be posted in the Entrance Hall to remind you.  And of course, you may invite a younger student, if you wish.  That is all, thank you."

All the seventh years began to talk eagerly about the dance—who they would ask, what they would wear, and what music there would be.

"Hello, my beautiful date!" Sirius said to Damia, who was sitting next to him.

"Hello, my gorgeous fellow!" Damia said grinning.  Sirius smiled in return.  Damia sighed happily. 

"Ooh, I still can't believe it!  We're finally going out!  Who would have thought?"

"Not James, that's for sure.  Did you see his face when you told him?" Sirius elbowed James, who was sitting on his other side.  James decided to ignore him, and went back to talking with Lily, sitting very close to him.

"Yeah, all of them!" said Damia, "They were speechless!"  They both laughed.  

After a few minutes, the owls started flying in to bring the morning mail.  This reminded Damia of something.

"I should probably send an owl to my mum, shouldn't I?" she said, looking over her juice glass at him, "Boy, will she be surprised!  But you have met her before, haven't you?" 

"Yeah, I met her when we all had that slumber party at your house last summer.  She hasn't really been around much magic since your dad died, has she?"  Sirius suddenly regretted asking the question, because a look of distress had just come over her as soon as he'd finished the sentence.  Her dad, with whom she had been very close, had died just a few years ago.  Damia was a half-blood; her mom was a Muggle, and her dad had been a wizard.

            "I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to bring it up."

"Oh, it's okay," She smiled sadly, "He died three years ago. I suppose I should have gotten over it by now."

"No, my mum died five years ago, and I still haven't gotten over it," he said quietly, staring at his cereal, "It's almost like… you don't want to get over it, because that would be disrespecting them.  You feel—I don't know, the obligation I guess—to keep feeling sad."

She leaned over and rubbed his arm comfortingly.  

"Don't be, your mum wouldn't want you to be mourning all the time," she said, "She'd want you to be happy, to get on with your life.  Which is exactly what we're going to do."

He smiled and kissed her, still feeling butterflies in his stomach when their lips touched.  They continued eating, and after a few minutes, the conversation changed to a happier note. 

"So, James," Sirius said, turning around, "when are you and Lily going to have the _wedding_?"

"Well, we didn't really get that far," said Lily, "What do you think, Jamesie?"

"Hmmm… I guess after we get out of school," said James, "and we've talked about that name!"  He muttered something under his breath:  "Lily Bean…" 

"Well… Jamesie… we get out of school in spring," said Lily, "Why don't we have it then?  It doesn't have to be big.  And we've talked about that name too!"  

"_Lily Bean_."

Lily decided to ignore him.  "All right, I guess I'd better get started on my letter to Mum and Dad.  I'll see you guys later!" And she walked out of the Great Hall toward Gryffindor Tower.

"Hey, Lily Bean!  Wait for me!" called James, who was trying to untangle his legs from the legs of his chair.  Finally he dislodged himself, took a last bite of toast, and ran to catch up with her. 

Sirius and Damia rolled their eyes at each other and finished eating, leaving Remus and Kalli finishing their oatmeal together and Peter slurping on a quarter of an orange.  As they walked out, Damia said:

"Well, what shall we do today?  Do you have any homework?"

"Nope, I actually finished it all Friday night.  Now that we're almost out of school I guess they're giving us a break, surprisingly." said Sirius, "Why don't we go for a walk or something outside after you've finished your letter." Damia nodded and they both headed back to Gryffindor Tower with their arms around each other.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Good chapter coming up, I promise!  I'm not going to write it until after my prom, which is April 12, so I have an idea of what a really formal ball/dance is like, since I've never been to one!  Tanks to everyone who reviewed!  I didn't get this many reviews the first time I posted it, so it must be better now!  Speaking of prom, I'm going to do my own hair, and I'm practicing it right now.  The curlers in my hair make me look like Shirley Temple, or some other curly-haired little kid.  The only thing is, I don't have enough, so only half my hair is curled!  I must say that I look pretty ridiculous.  Good thing no one's home… Ghra!  I'm rambling!  Stop meeeeeeeeee!  


	3. The Graduation Dance

I'm SOO sorry I took so long to upload!  School's been awful, but I'm finally done.  And I don't have to get a job until the fall, so I'll have the summer to spend writing and getting inspired!  Woohoo!  

Alrighty then, here is the long-awaited chapter 3.  Thank you so so so much to all my reviewers!  I guess I didn't really need to wait until prom to write this, but oh well.  I really hope I'm not cramming this down your throats.  This is really my only Harry Potter fanfic that actually means something, so reviews mean so much to me!  Keep reviewing, and I'll keep writing!  (Ok, ok, I'll keep writing even if I don't get reviews.  But it may take a while.)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potterish.  J.K. does.  You know that by now.  

Claimer: I own Damia, Emma, Daphne, and the gowns, especially Damia's, which except for the wrap, is an exact replica of my Junior Prom dress.  But my mom didn't make it herself; she bought it herself.

Chapter 3:  THE GRAD DANCE

"Damia, you look _gorgeous_!"

Damia smiled and spun in a circle; eyeing herself in the large, floor-length mirror that hung against the door of the dormitory she shared with Lily, Kalli, and the two other seventh year Gryffindor girls, Emma Weasley and Daphne Bell.  Everyone was dressing for the graduation ball, which was going to start in an hour.

Damia was wearing a long, shimmery, midnight blue gown.  The gown was two pieced: a dress part that swept the floor with a noticeable little train, and a wrap that fastened around her neck that acted as both a light scarf and a cloak.  The dress had spaghetti straps and a low, square neck, and the back was laced up in crisscrossing ties.  The wrap was lying on her trunk at the foot of her four-poster bed, waiting until she was done to put it on.  She was barefoot; her strappy black shoes were lying at the foot of her bed as well.  

Lily was stunning in her dark-green, satin gown that went with her green eyes and auburn hair perfectly.  Kalli was in a pale pink two-pieced spring gown with a flowing long skirt.  Emma and Daphne hadn't changed yet and were sitting on their beds wearing their bathrobes, in the middle of doing their hair, but had now turned around to admire Damia's gown.

"Oh, that's such a beautiful gown, Damia!" Lily was saying, "Where did you get it, at Madam Malkin's?  I didn't see anything like it there when I got mine!"

"Actually my mother made it for me," Damia answered, "she sewed it herself, the Muggle way.  Impressive, huh?"

She spun around in the mirror again, the gown making a soft rustling sound.

A half hour later, when they were almost ready, Kalli asked Emma something.  
            "So, Miss Weasley, you haven't told us who your date is.  Is he in Gryffindor?"

"No," Emma answered quietly, "No, he's from another house.  Do you know Severus Snape?"

The other four girls stared open-mouthed.

"_Severus Snape?_" Lily answered in disbelief, "_Severus_ is your date?"

"Emma darling, you didn't even tell _me_ that!" said Daphne.

"What, what's so bad about him?  Ok, his hair might be a little lank, and he might be a little quiet, but he's really not that bad!" said Emma defensively.

 "Yeah, but Emma," Kalli began,  "well… his family and yours have never really gotten along.  I mean, when your brother Arthur was here, he and Snape's brother Derek were practically mortal enemies!" 

"Yeah, but Sev's different.  I don't know, but he's always been really nice to me."

"Well, if he's nice to you… then I guess that's all that matters," said Lily.  The conversation ended here on a rather uncomfortable note. 

When it was almost six o'clock, the girls walked down the tower steps and into the common room, where many boys were waiting for their Gryffindor dates.  James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were in their nice-looking dress robes waiting for the girls, except for Peter, who hadn't been able to get a date.  He looked rather dejected as the three couples joined each other.  Sirius took one look at Damia and seemed to be at a loss for words for a few seconds.  Being a bit of a tomboy, Damia was hardly ever seen in formal dress, with her hair up in a lovely, twisted chignon.  But he eventually found his voice.

"Damia, you look… great…"

Damia just smiled at him and gave him a kiss.  Then they climbed out of the large portrait hole and walked (jokily, a little too formal) arm in arm down to the Entrance Hall along with James and Lily, Remus and Kalli, and Peter.  There they saw most of the other students from other houses.  Emma Weasley made her way over to Severus Snape, who was standing with his usual group of Slytherin friends: Lucius Malfoy and his girlfriend Narcissa Boyle, Michael Lestrange and his girlfriend Betany Thoyer, Evan Rosier and his date Natasha Wilkes, and a few more.  The Marauders gazed silently at Emma and Snape before moving into the Great Hall, where the long tables had been placed aside and many smaller ones circled the dance floor.  Many people were already there, sitting down at the tables and chatting amongst themselves.

After everyone had arrived and dinner had been finished, the band struck up an upbeat tune, and the dancing began.  After many fast songs, and some slower romantic ones (which Sirius, Damia, James, and Lily danced to every one), the band announced that they would now be taking requests.  Emma broke away from Snape for a moment and ran up to the band's lead guitarist, said something intelligible to him, and pointed at Damia, Lily, Kalli, and the Marauders.  Damia could read her lips in one sentence: "—for my friends over there—" The guitarist nodded and spoke to his other bandmates.  After they all nodded, Emma ran back to Snape, who threw a somewhat dirty look at Emma's friends.  Emma didn't notice, and he turned his attention back to her while the guitarist spoke up. 

"All right, we have a request for a song by a band even the people here who don't know anything about Muggles should recognize.  This is 'In My Life', by the Beatles."

A few people applauded, and the band started the song.  Sirius and Damia wrapped their arms around each other and started dancing, with James, Lily, Remus, and Kalli close by.

_There are places I remember_

_All my life, though some have changed_

_Some forever not for better_

_Some have gone and some remain_

_All these places have their moments_

_With lovers and friends I still can recall_

_Some are dead and some are living_

_In my life, I've loved them all_

_But of all these friends and lovers_

_There is no one compares with you_

_And these memories lose their meaning_

_When I think of love as something new_

_Though I know I'll never lose affection_

_For people and things that went before_

_I know I'll often stop and think about them_

_In my life, I love you more_

_Though I know I'll never lose affection_

_For people and things that went before_

_I know I'll often stop and think about them_

_In my life, I love you more_

_In my life, I love you more…_

As the song played, Sirius and Damia moved closer and closer together until they were dancing in a close embrace.  They both ignored all the single girls who were staring jealously at Sirius with his lovely new date.  Lily and James were nearby sharing a kiss, and Remus and Kalli were dancing a little ways away, talking quietly to each other.  When the song ended everyone broke apart and applauded the band.

It seemed like no time before the band announced that the evening was drawing to a close.  Everyone applauded them courteously and made their way out of the Great Hall, up to their Common Rooms.  It was now almost midnight, and everyone was feeling tired, but content.  While couples from different houses said goodnight to each other in the Entrance Hall, couples from the same houses went to their common rooms together.  As Sirius and Damia walked slowly along toward Gryffindor Tower, he whispered in her ear so no one else could overhear: 

"Meet me in the Common Room after everyone in your dorm falls asleep.  I want to show you something outside."  

"What?" she whispered back.

"You'll see.  I don't want to give it away."

She silently answered him with a nod, wondering what it could be.

~*~

            Damia lay silently in her four-poster bed with her eyes wide open, waiting for the sound of the rhythm of everyone's heavy breathing that would let her know they were asleep.  When she was finally sure they were, she slipped out of bed as quietly as she could and put on her slippers.  She wasn't nervous at all about sneaking around the school at night; she knew almost every corridor, classroom, and exit of the entire castle like the back of her hand.  It was another warm night, so she didn't bother taking her bathrobe with her.  She snuck down the spiral stone staircase, past the doors of the other Gryffindor girls' dorms, and into the Common Room, where she found Sirius in his pajamas, sitting in an armchair waiting for her.  He had James's invisibility cloak over his arm, and the Marauders Map in the other hand.  He put a finger to his lips to signal that they couldn't make a sound, and covered the cloak over both of them, hiding any visible trace.

            They both made their way out of the portrait hole, down the corridors and passages, down some staircases and into the Entrance Hall.  Checking the Map to make sure no one was around, they quietly snuck out the door.  Still wearing the Cloak, they walked across the damp lawn, past Hagrid's dark hut, and down towards the Quidditch pitch.  Once they were past that, it was safe to take off the cloak, as there was no one within a few hundred meters.  

            They strode across the dark, wet grass toward the Forbidden Forest.  Damia had to hurry to keep up with Sirius, as he was walking with such eager impatience that it was hard to keep by his side.

            "Where are you taking me?" Damia asked, a little out of breath.

            "You'll see.  You'll love it, trust me…" Sirius said, slowing down a little to grab her hand and pull her along.  "James doesn't even know about this.  I wanted you to be the first to find out…"

            They finally reached the far edge of the Forbidden Forest, and Sirius didn't pause for one moment before going in, pulling Damia along by her hand.  They hadn't gone very far before they came to a large outcropping of moss-covered rock.  Sirius took out his wand and muttered something quietly.  Suddenly a huge section of the rock vanished and revealed a little cave.  Inside it was…

            "A motorcycle?" Damia whispered, forgetting she didn't have to keep her voice down, "You have a motorcycle?  Since when?  Where did you get it?" Sirius nodded proudly.  

             "I found it," he said, "Somebody had trashed it and left it in a ditch in the woods near my house.  I've been working on it every summer since fourth year, replacing parts and cleaning the whole thing up, all by hand.  During Easter holidays I brought it here magically and hid it, working on the last few bits and pieces.  Now it needs only a couple more things before we can take it for a ride!"  He patted the handlebars.  

            "_We_ take it for a ride?" Damia asked.  "You mean I get to come too?"

            "Of course!  Look, it seats two…" he said, stepping aside to show her the whole thing thoroughly.  He paused for a moment, letting her look.  When she just stared at it and didn't say anything he pressed her:

            "So… what do you think?"

            Damia looked at him, beaming.

            "I think it's absolutely beautiful—" she said, and threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.  "I'm really proud of you, Sirius, it looks amazing!  Are you sure you did this by hand?"

            "Completely sure.  And I had a hard time keeping it secret from my dad, I can tell you.  He almost found me out a couple times…" He trailed off distantly, looking away from her so she couldn't see his expression.  She didn't have to, though—she knew what Sirius thought of his dad, and what his dad thought of him.  "…But patience pays off…" he finished, trying to sound lofty.

            "What else needs to be done with it before it's ready?" Damia asked, changing back to the happier subject.

            "Just a few spells.  Wait 'till you see…" He stepped back and pulled a somewhat wrinkled piece of paper out of his pocket.  Damia leaned over to look.  It had many complicated-looking spells written across it, in strange words that she didn't even remember learning in any of her classes.  It looked as though Sirius had already planned the spell out, writing it down so he wouldn't make a mistake.  He read it over a couple of times out loud, muttering under his breath for practice before he performed the actual thing.  Finally he pulled out his wand and motioned for her to stand back.

"Watch out, babe, you might want to stand back a little," he said, "I'm not sure how strong this might actually be, but I know for a fact that it'll work.  There's no way it can fail… I'm pretty sure…" He ended somewhat uneasily and walked nearer to the bike.  Then he began the spell.  It had a lot of intricate words that Damia thought he must have done a lot of research on.  When he was done a stream of silver light shot out of the end of his wand and surrounded the whole bike, like a shimmering, watery layer.  The bike seemed to absorb it until there was no trace of it left.  Sirius exhaled loudly, like he had just remembered to breathe again.

"There, I think it worked…" he whispered, as if not wanting to jinx it, "It must have worked.  All right!"  He smiled broadly.  

"What did you do?" Damia asked, a little lost by now.

"I put a silencer on it, so we can take it out and no one can hear it," Sirius said, "but that's not the best part.  Here, we'll wheel it out of the forest and you can climb on behind me." He rolled it away from the trees to the flat ground and climbed onto the front of the seat, leaving room for her.  She swung her leg over the side and sat behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist so she wouldn't fall off when they started moving.  _This is quite a way to ride…_ Damia thought to herself, _two people in their pajamas sneaking out and riding in the middle of the night!_  

Sirius kicked the bike to life.  Damia could tell it was definitely running; the engine was vibrating despite there being no sound at all.  Sirius turned his head around and looked back at her, smiling, before kicking the gas pedal. As they began to move, Damia noticed that they seemed to be going steeply uphill, even though the ground was flat.  It was a few seconds before she realized that they were flying.  She let out a great yell of surprise.

"Flying?  You made this thing _fly_?" she said loudly, not bothering to lower her voice.

"Why of course.  What would you have done?" he answered, as if it was obvious, "Now I don't need to worry about saving up for a broomstick; I can just take this out!  And this can carry two, and a broomstick would never be able to!" He was obviously enjoying himself immensely.  And as they climbed out hundreds of feet over the trees, rose over the black shiny surface of the lake, and soared over the neatly thatched roofs of the Hogsmeade buildings, Damia began to too.  She grinned with giddiness and rested her chin on Sirius's shoulder, her arms still tight around his waist.  Sirius sped up and did a few dives, so quickly that both of them felt like their stomachs had suddenly disappeared.  

They flew for a few hours, out past Hogsmeade, over the vast Scottish countryside surrounding Hogwarts and its grounds.  Finally, when both of them saw the faint pinkish light making its way over the western horizon, they decided that it might be time to turn back.  They were feeling more than a little tired by now, and started thinking it would be a good idea to sleep happily for the rest of the day in their warm, comfy four-poster beds.  

By the time they got back to the outcropping where Sirius had hidden the bike, the half the sky was pink and orange with the dawn light.  Sirius hid the bike in the cave again and took the Map in his hand, draping the cloak over both of them, since someone might be able to see them from here if they were looking out one of the tower windows.  They slowly and sleepily made their way back to the front castle doors, not saying much along the way.  As they walked up towards Gryffindor Tower, they saw that the only things up were the house elves, quickly running back and forth, cleaning this and that before the humans got up.  Sirius and Damia were so tired that they didn't bother stopping and asking them for extra food, like they usually did when they were out at night.  When they reached the Gryffindor Common Room, finding it thankfully empty, they both threw off the cloak and collapsed onto the couch.  Sirius wiped his sweaty forehead and groaned.

"Oh, I shouldn't've sat down, I'll never be able to get up now!"

"Yeah," Damia said, somewhat winded, "but that was incredibly fun, though.  We should do it again soon.  Should we tell the others about it?"

"Oh, I suppose we should," Sirius said in pretend resignation, "I've actually been wanting to tell everyone about it since I started on it.  Now I can't remember why I didn't in the first place!"

"Oh, never mind.  We can tell them tomorrow.  Well, I'm going to bed.  And I might not be up for a while."

"Yeah, me too.  Can you help me up?" he asked, holding out his arms helplessly.  Damia sighed and got up, grabbing his hands and pulling him off the couch and onto the floor.

"No, not _that_ up," he said, "_Up_, up!"

"Oh, come on, you helpless baby!" she said, yanking him upwards by his armpits.

"Ow.  Thanks."

"No problem.  G'night."

"G'night,"

As Sirius started to go up the boy's dormitory stairs, Damia pulled on his arm, stopping him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long kiss on the lips.  When she was done, he stood there, not saying anything.

"Thanks for a great night out, Sirius," said Damia.

"Oh yeah, like I'll be able to sleep now!" he exclaimed, recovering quickly.

She just smiled broadly at him and walked up her stairs to her warm, comfy four-poster bed. 


	4. Damia's Diary

Monday, May 28

Dear Diary,

I slept most of yesterday… (YAWN) and didn't get up until three in the afternoon.  Sirius slept even later than me, getting up at four.  Last night after dinner we told everyone about the motorcycle, and you can imagine that they were pretty surprised.  A little annoyed, too, that we had gone out in the middle of the night to ride it without telling any of them.  But we made it up to them, saying we would all go next weekend and take turns riding it.  We can't go during this week, with all the studying for final exams going on.  I wish Sirius hadn't said that the teachers were giving us a break; he seemed to jinx them into giving us more work than ever!  I suppose I should go now and finish my nasty Potions essay.  And my Transfiguration one.  And my History of Magic one.  And I haven't even started my Defense Against the Dark Arts one yet.  It's due in two days.  Ghra!  Oh well.  School is only temporary; at least I finally have Sirius with me.  I still can't believe that he feels the same way I do!  He hid it very well over the last few years.  I guess I must have too.  I love it when he kisses me; it's like in those love stories you always read where "time stands still and eternity seems to go by…" (snaps out of daydream)… ahem, anyway, I guess I'd better go now (I hate essays more than anything in the world).

Love, 

Damia

Friday, June 1

Hi Diary,

Sorry I wasn't able to write much this week.  I've been spending most of my time studying with Sirius and the others.  Well, trying to.  James and Sirius can be incredibly distracting.  Today they set off some firecrackers in the common room, saying it was an accident.  Yeah right.  But of course, they're going to have no problem passing the exams.  They really are intelligent, despite their immaturity.  I don't know how they do it!  Lily, Kalli, and I have started moving into the library to do our work, but the boys always seem to know where we are, and they follow us around everywhere, all of them.  I'm surprised we can get anything done!  Oh, by the way, James and Lily have set the date for their wedding!  August 13th.  Right in the midst of summer, when it's the most beautiful!  I don't think it's going to be at Hogwarts, since they want to have it outside.  It's also not going to be very big; just close friends and relatives.  Speaking of relatives, James and Lily's' parents completely flipped when they found out!  Lily let me read a letter from her mother, saying how she was so proud of her little girl, and wanting to make sure she was making the right choice by marrying so young, and all that (I think there were tear marks on it from her crying).  James's mother said basically the same thing.  I think James and Lily can't wait to get back home to see them and tell them all about it.  Actually, I can't either—I miss my mum so much.  She was really happy for me that Sirius and I finally got together.  She's the only one I ever told about how I felt about him; I didn't even tell Lily and Kalli.  I wish my dad were still here.  I don't think he ever met Sirius, or any of my other friends.  I'm sure he would have liked them, though.  Well on a happier note, we're all sneaking out tonight to ride the motorcycle!  We're going to have to make two trips out of the school under the invisibility cloak, but once we're outside, James, Sirius, and Peter can transform and Remus, Lily, Kalli, and I can go under the cloak, just in case someone's watching through a window.  Oh, I can't wait!  Whoops, Lily says it's time to go now, it's almost midnight.  I'll tell you all about it when we get back!

Love,

Damia

Saturday, June 2

Dear Diary,

I slept late again today, which I wish I hadn't, since there's a lot of studying I need to do—exams are every day next week.  But last night was so much fun!  Nobody caught us, which was surprising, since we rarely all go out together, all at the same time.  We all took turns riding the bike; it's so big that there was plenty of room for Sirius and whoever's turn it was to ride in back.  I think there would be room for three people if they were smaller than us.  Sirius says he'll take it out again with just him and me, but not until school ends, two weeks from now.  I think even he's realizing that he has studying to do.  Speaking of which, I'd better get going.  I'll write more when I have the time.  (Hopefully soon, my brain is about to fry…)

Love,

Damia

Friday, June 8

Dear Diary,

Yay!  Exams are finally over!  No more studying!  We had our last two today, and I think I actually did all right on them!  Defense Against the Dark Arts was easy, since I always remembered stuff from that class.  And by some miracle, Potions wasn't as hard as the professor made it out to be.  So I'm finally done.  Our last Hogsmeade visit is tomorrow, but Professor Dumbledore asked all the seventh year students to attend an important meeting in the Great Hall first, after breakfast.  I wonder what it's about… well, my eyes are closing as we speak, so I'll say goodnight.  I think my brain really did fry.  But I'll write again tomorrow and tell all about the meeting and Hogsmeade.

Love, 

Damia

Saturday, June 9

Dear Diary,

Well Diary, it appears that I very well have a job as soon as I get out of Hogwarts.  Dumbledore called a meeting this morning to inform us that Lord Voldemort—you know, the Dark wizard who's been causing some really big problems over the past few years—has been getting stronger and forming a larger group of followers.  He told us that Voldemort just killed a powerful governmental wizard.  We read about it too, it's all over the _Daily Prophet_.  Dumbledore needs people to work as spies so we can gain information on his movements.  He wanted to ask those of us graduating from Hogwarts who didn't have careers planned out yet if we would volunteer, which was basically all of the Marauders and Lily, Kalli, and me.  So we all volunteered!  We won't be paid much in money, but we will be provided houses and apartments if we need a place to stay.  Of course, since James's family has always been well off, he and Lily are going to live in a house his family already owns, over in Godric's Hollow.  But I'll need a place near Hogwarts too, so I'm seriously thinking of moving into an available cottage three miles away from Lily and James!  But that's not the best part—Sirius might be moving in with me!  We planned it all out today while we were at Hogsmeade.  As soon as school ends we're going to go check out the cottage I had in mind.  We're going to have to go through special magical training, of course, along with some other seventh years and some other witches and wizards who have already graduated from Hogwarts.  You know, to learn some more advanced spells and gain more knowledge of the darker side of magic.  The lessons will be at Hogwarts during the summer, which is kind of a bummer, but at least I'll have an exiting, fulfilling job afterwards!  I was getting worried about having to choose a suitable career with so little school left, since I had no idea what I wanted to do after Hogwarts.  But now I have everything planned out.  Whew, long entry.  I guess I should write to Mum now, and tell her all about it.  I wonder what she'll say when I tell her Sirius and I want to live together…

Talk to you tomorrow,

Damia Sunday, June 10 

Dear Diary,

Dumbledore called another meeting today with everyone who decided to work as spies for him and the Ministry of Magic.  It appears that the Minister is appointing him the head of the whole project (which will be called the Order of the Phoenix), since he seems to be the only wizard that Voldemort is afraid to face.  I sent a letter with Athena home to Mum telling her what was going on and asking her if she thought that would be a good idea.  I don't think she'll say no, since this is something that I really want to do.  I'm already an expert at sneaking around; I'd say that Sirius, James, and I are the best out of all of us!  With a little more training, I think I could be a very good secret agent (that's what I'm calling it now, instead of spy, although "spy" is probably a more accurate term).  We get to go home with everyone else on the Hogwarts Express this Friday to see our families, but we have to come back to Hogwarts a week later to begin the training.  Of course, Lily and James are going to have to work extra hard, with the training and getting ready for the wedding.  The training will last a little more than six months, and we will still be living at Hogwarts during that time.  I'm imagining that it will be sort of like a summer camp… Dumbledore told us that the training will begin on June 24, and will go till January of next year, which is way after the wedding, but James and Lily don't plan on changing the date.  I guess they'll be going on their honeymoon after that or during Christmas holidays, which we have off.  Let me see if I can remember anything else… nope, I guess I'll write more when I know more of what's happening.  

Love,

Damia

Wednesday, June 13

Dear Diary,

Athena came back today with Mum's response to my letter I sent Saturday night… she said yes!  She told me to be extremely careful  (even though she's a Muggle, she knows a dangerous wizard when she sees one.  Well, not _see_ literally, but you know what I mean).  I told her in my letter that being a secret agent for Dumbledore wasn't much different from being a secret agent for the FBI, like her father was in America, back in the '50s.  She agreed with me, but that didn't make her any less nervous… She also said that I could get a place in Godric's Hollow with Sirius—as long as we remain on a _roommate_ basis.  I told her that we have basically been roommates for the last seven years here at Hogwarts, anyway… We go home the day after tomorrow!  I think I'm more excited about that than Sirius is.  Wait, I _know_ I'm more excited about that than Sirius is.  His dad has problems.  I think one of the reasons why Sirius wanted to join the Order of the Phoenix was just to get away from him, to move out as soon as possible, and I don't blame him in the least.  Oh, and Lily wants me to be her maid of honor at the wedding!  We all knew that James wanted Sirius to be the best man; they told him that when they first told us they were getting married.  I don't know who will perform the ceremony, but I won't be surprised if it's Dumbledore.  Well I'd better go now, Sirius and I are going to wake up early tomorrow and ride the motorcycle one last time before school ends.  I don't know how he's planning to take it home, but I suppose it will be the same way he brought it here, whatever that was.  Exam results come out tomorrow.  Yahoo.  But the end of school feast is tomorrow too!  

Love, 

Damia

Thursday, June 14

Dear Diary,

Well, we go home tomorrow.  We won the House Cup this year!  It was really close between Gryffindor and Slytherin, but winning the Quidditch final did it.  If you don't count fourth year when the Ravenclaws won it, we've won the Cup every year that we've been at Hogwarts!  It's been a very interesting year, to say the least.  Definitely my favorite out of all my years at Hogwarts.  I will be sorry to go, of course… but I'm coming right back a week later!  I'm really looking forward to the training—there will be a lot more active learning, like learning the best spells to use in situations like dueling.  They will even be teaching some hand-to-hand combat, with no magic at all.  But what I'm looking forward to most is spells you use in stealth; I'm not really into out-and-out fighting, although if I get in a situation where I have to do it, it will be useful to know.  This morning was fun.  We went out at four and barely got back to the castle in time before it got totally light.  I feel really sorry for Remus; the full moon was Monday, and he's still not feeling very well.  Of course, the boys all went out and did whatever they always do.  I never became an Animagi with them—I don't really remember now why.  They wouldn't have let me come anyway; they would've said it was too dangerous.  Whatever.  But if I could choose any animal to be, I would definitely have to be a raven.  Or maybe an owl.  It would have to be some type of bird.  If not a bird, than a cat—totally black, so I would be hard to see at night.  Oh, we got our exam results back today.  I passed every one!  In fact, my lowest grade of them all was an 83, a tie between Potions and History of Magic.  But that's ok—I thought I'd done a lot worse.  Well, I'd better finish packing for tomorrow; we're leaving at 8 in the morning.  I'll write again when I get home!

Love, 

Damia


	5. The Weeklong Summer Holiday

Damia rubbed her fingers over her eyes and closed her diary.  It had been a long day.  She had been up for almost twenty hours, and she still had things to do.  Everyone in her dormitory was already asleep.  Damia put away everything except for the things she would need in the morning, and finally climbed into bed, almost asleep before her head touched the pillow.

Despite her exhaustion the night before, Damia woke up fairly early.  She soon realized that that was because Athena, her tawny owl, had flown through the open window and was nipping at her ear.  Damia gently pushed her away.

"Athena, how could you be hungry already?  Go out and hunt something."

She got up and dressed.

A few hours later at the Hogsmeade station, students were happily boarding the Hogwarts Express.  The Marauders, Lily, Kalli, and Damia were all saying goodbye to Hagrid.  It was a chilly day and it was raining softly, the raindrops making little splashing noises on the cement platform and the cobblestone street behind them.  Damia shivered against the wind and wrapped her cloak tighter around her, and moved closer to Sirius for warmth.  Sirius put his arm tightly around her.

"G'bye, all o' you," said Hagrid, "but I guess you're comin' right back next week, eh?"

"Yeah, we won't be gone for long, Hagrid," said Remus, "we'll see you as soon as we get back." 

They all gave Hagrid a hug and boarded the train just as the conductor announced that it was about to leave.  The seven walked single-file down the train's corridor until they came to an empty compartment in the last car.  They piled in and found a seat, each looking forward to a long, but relaxing ride home.  

They were just coming out of Scotland an hour later.  Damia was asleep on Sirius's shoulder, Lily and Kalli were reading their information books on the Order of the Phoenix training, James and Remus were playing a game of wizard's chess, and Peter was just staring into space.  Everyone was strangely silent and serious.  Possibly it was because they knew that they weren't children anymore, and they were just about to enter a new and dangerous adult world.  

The train sped on through the rain.  

They reached King's Cross station in the late afternoon.  Everyone piled out of the train, picked up their baggage, met up with their families, and said goodbye to their friends, knowing that they would just be saying hello again a week later.  When Damia kissed Sirius goodbye, he whispered into her ear:

"This week is going to be terrible with just me and him in the house," Damia knew he was talking about his father, who hadn't shown up to pick up his son, "I'll have to come visit you on the bike sometime, ok?"

"Of course," Damia answered, "hey, once you've gotten all your stuff together from your dad's house you can come stay with me until we leave for Hogwarts again!"

"Sounds good," said Sirius, who was unloading his motorcycle from a special storage area of the train.  He loaded his small trunk onto the back and tied it down with some Spellotape.  "Looks like I'll be driving this the Muggle way back home, now that it's daytime."  

They walked out of the entrance to Platform 9¾ and found Damia's mother standing there with some other Muggle parents.  She smiled broadly and gave Damia a big hug, and then, to his surprise, gave Sirius one too.  They walked out of the station together, talking about some of the things that had happened that year at school.  When they reached the parking lot Damia kissed Sirius goodbye again, and climbed into her mother's car.  Sirius kicked on the bike and drove away, blowing Damia a kiss.  He was out of sight when Damia's mother drove the car away in the opposite direction.  
  


~*~

Monday, June 18

Dear Lily,  
How's your weeklong summer holiday been so far?  Nothing much has happened here, except enlightening Mum on everything that had happened this year.  Oh, and Sirius came over!  He'll be staying here until we go back to Hogwarts!  He's really happy that he won't have to deal with his dad any longer, even if he doesn't say so.  He never really said so, but I can tell.  It's weird how I can tell what he's thinking just by looking at him—does that happen a lot with you and James?  I wish we lived nearer to each other, then we could meet up sometime this week!  But I guess we won't have to wait long, huh?  Well… I'll talk to you soon, anyway!  

Love, 

Damia

P.S. Sirius and I made cookies today.  Peanut butter, our favorite.

~*~

Wednesday, June 20

Dear Damia,

It's great that Sirius came over!  I bet you two are having fun.  James doesn't live too far away, so we've been able to meet up a couple of times.  I feel bad for Remus and Kalli; they live the farthest apart.  Remember last year when we all had that party at your house?  That was really fun.  Too bad we won't have time for that this year.  My parents are so excited about James and I getting married.  My sister isn't though.  Big surprise.  Write back, if you have time!  If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express!

Love,

Lily

P.S. Petunia has one of her boyfriends over now.  This one's name is Vernon Dursley.  I've tried to be nice, but I can't help but notice that he looks like an elephant with no neck. 

~*~

Wednesday, June 20

Dear Kalli,

I don't really see the point of writing to you, since we'll be meeting again in three days, but I am sooo bored here.  My sister is worse than ever about getting along with me.  I can't believe she's such a Muggle about witchcraft.  Her new boyfriend Vernon is over here now, and it looks like he thinks the same way—Mum and Dad were _proudly_ telling him all about me and Hogwarts.  Not the smartest thing to do.  Oh, I wish time didn't go by so slowly when you're not having fun.  Hmm… what else can I say?  I guess nothing much, except that I can't wait to see all of you again!  

Love,

Lily

P.S. I wish James would come over.

~*~

Thursday, June 21

Dear Lily,

You have my sympathy!  I'm sorry about your sister.  Sometimes I actually think I'm lucky to be an only child… I miss Remus so much!  I know it's only been a week, and we've been writing to each other every day, but I don't remember ever being this lonely before!  The only good thing is that now we can do magic out of school.  I've been waiting for that forever!  I can't wait to learn how to Apparate.  Will they be doing that in the training, do you know?  I don't know if this will get to you before we leave the day after tomorrow, but I'll try!  See you in two days!

Love, 

Kalli


	6. James and Lily's Wedding

I want to thank all my multiple reviewers: Mrs. Grim, Aalina, an ebony flame, SunShine*Malfoy, and my ol' friend Alarun.  And I love all you other guys too!  Please keep reviewing!  I live for reviews!

Should I be putting a disclaimer at the beginning of every chapter?  Oops... ok, here we go:

DISCLAIMER: The self-defense moves I copied out of a teen magazine. I forget which one because I was at the library and didn't really look at the cover.  Everything you don't recognize from the Harry Potter books belongs to me.  The rest belongs to the amazing, incredible, remarkable, more synonyms than you can count, J.K. Rowling.  Except Sirius, he belongs to me and always has.  Just try and sue me, why don't you???

Oh, and someone tell me if I spelled _Pachelbel's Cannon_ right.  If I didn't I'll fix it.

CHAPTER… UHM… EITHER 6 OR 7, DEPENDING ON WHETHER YOU COUNT THE INTRO AS A CHAPTER.

Damia sighed heavily and threw her belongings down on her four-poster bed she had left just the week before.  Except for seeing her mother again and having Sirius stay over, it hadn't been a very enjoyable summer holiday.  It had rained all week (it was still now) and it was too cold to seem like summer.  It was very nice to have met up with everyone again at King's Cross; it seemed like much more than a week had gone by.  

Kalli and Lily came in and threw dropped their bags on their beds too.  They were the only ones out of the seventh year Gryffindor girls who had come back for training.  Some older people too, who had already graduated from Hogwarts, had come for advanced Dark-Arts spy training.  They were in other dormitories though.  Here it was just Damia, Kalli, and Lily in their old room again.

Damia sat on her bed and looked through her schedule for Monday.  It looked like this: 

MONDAY

8:00 am—Advanced Spells

10:00 am—Advanced Dark Arts research and study

Noon—Lunch

1:00 pm—Non-Magic Self Defense

8:00 pm—Dinner

10:00 pm—Bed

She also got the schedule for the rest of the week, which had somewhat different classes.  She was disappointed that they wouldn't have the Stealth Spells class until Tuesday.  It also appeared that Sunday, which was tomorrow, was the only day a week they would have off.  She sighed again, said goodnight to Kalli and Lily, and went to bed.

~*~

It turned out that about fifty people had turned up for training.  Most of them were older than Damia and her friends, but there were a few former seventh year students from other houses who had come.  Most of the people were in their twenties or thirties, a few were older.

 Classes weren't especially difficult or different from the ones they had in seventh year, but Damia suspected that it wouldn't stay that way.  Advanced spells were basically an advanced Charms class with a little Transfiguration thrown in.  In that class they were told that they were never to use the Unforgivable Curses, under any circumstances.  But they were taught alternatives to use instead.

Advanced Dark Arts research and study was just sitting down and researching different Dark witches and wizards over the ages and how they caused trouble.  This was mostly bookwork, lectures, and taking notes.  Just learning some background information that would came in handy in the future.

Non-Magic Self Defense, on the other hand, was very active and had no magical skills at all.  This was just practicing ways to defend yourself if you got into a difficult situation and wanted to catch your enemy off guard by using Muggle tactics.  Everyone learned very useful ways of defense, such as poking the enemies' eyes out with your thumbs, breaking the pinky finger like you would a pencil, biting wherever you can reach and maybe taking off a finger, throwing a good punch, aiming a good kick, stomping their feet, elbowing them in the face, or the most effective form of defense: aiming for the groin if it's a man, and if it's a woman, aiming for the chest or pulling her hair.

Stealth class turned out to be Damia's favorite.  They learned about camouflage spells, which would make you much less noticeable to unsuspecting eyes; silencing spells, which would silence everything you did, like your footsteps or your clothes rustling; super-eye spells, which would give you eyesight like a hawk; similarly, super-ear spells, which would let you hear a fly buzz a hundred feet away; night-vision spells, which would let you see in the night as if you had a torch; memory spells, which would wipe the short-term memory of anyone suspecting you; communication spells, which were sort of a Muggle walkie-talkie equivalent that would allow agents to contact each other; and finally, for those who didn't know it already, Apparating and Dissapparating.  

            Damia also started doing yoga with the girls in her dorm.  It made sense for them to be physically and mentally healthy as well as skilled in magic.

~*~

The weeks and the summer went by and Lily and James's wedding day was approaching.  They had it mostly planned out already.  Dumbledore would in fact be performing the ceremony, and it would be outside on the Quidditch pitch!  There were weddings sometimes at Hogwarts, but this would be the first that would take place there.  Only close friends and relatives would be coming, since both James and Lily liked small weddings better than big ones.  Lily had already gotten her wedding dress-robes, and of course, James wasn't allowed to see her in them until the wedding.  Damia had also gotten her best maid's dress robes, which were a lovely shade of lavender.  Kalli and Emma (who was now working for the Ministry of Magic) were the bridesmaids, and their dress robes were a lighter shade of lavender than Damia's, more of a lilac.  Sirius, Remus, and Peter all got some very nice black dress robes.  Not as nice as James's, though, who looked rather striking in Damia's opinion.  But she still loved Sirius more.

The day of the wedding was warm and breezy.  Flowers decorated a beautiful arch where Dumbledore stood in cream-colored robes gilded with gold.  Chairs were also decked with flowers, and lined the aisle where Lily would walk down.  A large tent was at the beginning of the aisle where the girls had helped Lily get dressed before she would emerge.  James stood next to Dumbledore.  He was nervously watching the tent and wouldn't stop moving his hands.  He saw Sirius, Damia, Kalli, and Emma, along with a little flower girl who would be the first in line.  All of them were standing at the other end of the aisle, in the entrance to the tent, blocking his view of Lily, for the time being.  He looked over at Lily's family and saw her mother sitting there, her eyes shining with tears, and Lily's sister Petunia and her boyfriend Vernon, who looked as though they'd rather be anywhere else.  He suspected her parents had dragged Petunia along and Petunia had dragged Vernon along so she'd not be so miserable.  He didn't focus on them anymore though, as he fought down another wave of nerves.  He looked over at his parents sitting on the other side of the aisle.  Their eyes were shining too, and they smiled at him broadly.  This made him somehow more nervous than he had been before, and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

In a minute or two, the music started playing.  The soft classical melody of _Pachelbel's Cannon_ drifted down the aisle and around the seats, as the people turned around to see the little flower girl walk slowly down the aisle, smiling proudly at her parents at how well she scattered the rose petals around.  James smiled at her when she looked in his direction.  

Next came Sirius and Damia, arm in arm.  They both smiled broadly at James, and then gave each other a kiss before walking up to the altar, causing everyone who was watching to smile.  When they got to the altar Sirius stood by James's side, and Damia stood on the other side where Lily would be.  Kalli and Emma came down the aisle next, and stood next to Damia.  And then the music changed to the _Wedding March_, and Lily appeared.

James had never seen her more beautiful.  She had a wreath of tiny flowers circling her head, and a light veil was over her face.  Her white wedding robes seemed to shimmer in the sunlight.  She held a bouquet of wildflowers: pink, purple, and blue.  Her face was glowing and her eyes sparkled like emeralds.  Her father walked her up to the altar, kissed her cheek, whispered something into her ear, and sat down in the front row next to his wife.  Lily walked up to James and stood in front of him.  James took her hands in his and smiled broadly at her, most of his nervousness gone.

"Dearly beloved," Dumbledore began, "We are gathered here today to celebrate the most powerful union that can exist between two hearts: James Potter and Lily Evans…" As he spoke, and James and Lily became engrossed in each other's eyes, Sirius's gaze led to Damia in her lovely gown…

She looked even more beautiful than Lily, in his opinion.  She had curled her hair and had it pinned up now in a loose and lovely twist, with strands softly streaming down her neck and temples.  Her whole face was smiling, not just her mouth.  Her gray eyes were soft, deep, and glittering.  Her lavender gown was gorgeous on her, and it accented every one of her curves beautifully.  Her eyes were on Lily, but she soon felt Sirius's eyes on her, and she looked over at him.  He was staring meaningfully at her over James's shoulder.  She smiled back at him, but she looked away when Dumbledore spoke to her and Sirius.  
            "Do you have the rings?"  Damia gave James's ring to Lily, and Sirius gave Lily's ring to James.  "Very well, then.  Repeat after me please then, James—" but then James interrupted and spoke himself: 

"Lily Evans... this ring symbolizes my love for you.  It symbolizes that in our future together, I will love none but you, and there is no secret that I will hold from you.  It symbolizes all I will do for you in our future together: to have you, hold you, and comfort you, as long as we both shall live.  With this ring now, I ask you, will you be my wife?"

"I will," said Lily, smiling softly, her eyes filling up.  James slipped the golden band onto her left ring finger.

Dumbledore then said, "All right then, Lily, would you repeat after—" But Lily interrupted him too: 

"James Potter... this ring symbolizes my love for you.  It symbolizes that in our future together, I will love none but you, and there is no secret that I will hold from you.  It symbolizes all I will do for you in our future together: to have you, hold you, and comfort you, as long as we both shall live.  With this ring now, I ask you, will you be my husband?"

"I will," said James in a high squeaky voice before clearing his throat, "I will," he said again normally.  A few people chuckled.

Dumbledore continued, looking as if he was trying to see if he would be interrupted again, "Then, with the binding of this sacred spell of heart and soul, I pronounce you man and wife.  You may kiss the bride."  

And James kissed Lily.   Actually, Lily lifted his glasses and kissed him.  Damia and Sirius beamed.

"Family, friends, may I present to you, James and Lily Potter!"

Lily and James turned to the crowd, which cheered happily for them.  Lily turned to embrace Damia, Kalli, and Emma, and James turned to endure hard back-slaps from Sirius and from Remus and Peter who had run out of their seats to congratulate him.  Lily and James walked down the aisle, being hugged and kissed by various family members and friends.  

"Hey, you guys!  Turn around and smile!"  Damia said as she grabbed her camera and took a quick picture of James, Lily, and Sirius before all of them headed up to the castle for the reception.  

At the reception later on, as everyone was finishing their food, Sirius stood up from the long table at the end of the hall where the teachers usually sat.  He cleared his throat a couple of times, but no one noticed him until Damia tapped her spoon against her glass loudly.  Everyone finally turned to look up at the great table.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Sirius began, "I guess the best man is supposed to make a speech, and I guess I'm the best man to do it." A few people chuckled politely, but the whole top table rolled their eyes and sighed.  Sirius continued.

"James Potter.  We'll start with him.  James, we've been friends for a long time.  Since before we ever started Hogwarts.  And before you'd met Lily it seemed as though you were missing something.  I could never place it, but you never seemed quite complete.  Then when Lily came along at King's Cross, that emptiness was gone from you.  I've never really realized it before now.

"In fourth year when you finally started dating, it made so much sense that I wouldn't be surprised if you stayed together for eternity.  Maybe that's why you married so early; you'd had all the time you needed to decide.  It's truly an amazing match.  James, you know how to get past Lily's shyness and sweetness and get to the strong angry woman inside, and Lily, you know how to get past James's immaturity and clownish behavior and get to the kind and mild-tempered man inside," James and Lily both blushed and smiled, "and now that I've thoroughly exposed you both, I ask everyone to raise your glasses to James and Lily Potter! 


	7. The Letter

I added one little sentence to the previous chapter at the end of the wedding for those who missed it… how could I have forgotten the picture?? Oh well.  It's fixed.  Hey, you know those stories that have like, 2000 reviews?  Does anyone here know how people _do_ that?  I want 2000 reviews!  If I get up to 50 though, I'll be happy.  We'll throw a party!  Hugs Ozzie the cat, who has crawled into the author's lap and started licking her nose

PS, my dad, who has never read the books and has only seen the movie, thinks Harry's owl's name is Elgin, the guy who killed Harry's parents is Baltimore, and the guy with the turban's name is Squirrel.  Seriously.

DISCLAIMER: Everything you don't recognize from the books is mine.  Everything else belongs to J.K., who totally rocks.  Sirius is mine and forever will be.  Fends off suing lawyers with a board with a nail in it

Wow, this is a long one.  But it just might be the best chapter so far if I do say so myself, even though I wrote the middle part first.  Also the most sigh-inducing, especially at the end.  Rating moved to PG-13 for slight language and implied you-know-what.  Enjoy!

~*~ 

After James and Lily were married they moved out of their separate dormitories to one of the unused teacher's quarters until the training ended and they could move into their house in Godric's Hollow.  They invited their friends up to their room to visit them one day in mid-August.

From the corridor they walked into Lily and James's living room.  It was a large room with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling and medieval tapestries covering the stone walls, except for the large bay window looking down towards the lake.  Three bookcases sat against the walls.  There was a fireplace in the wall across from the window, with a large comfy looking couch in front of it, and a low table in front of the couch.  A large desk sat next to the window, with a large poufy chair in front of it.  A door was on the far side of the room leading to the bedroom.  It looked very comfortable.

The start of September marked the start of the new school year.  Which meant that everyone staying in their current dormitories had to be moved to a different part of the castle.  The last day of August was spent moving everything out of their old dormitories and into their new ones.  These were in a much older part of the castle and had been used from the Renaissance period of the 1600s to the Regency period of the early 1800s.  Even Dumbledore didn't know why they changed to the current dormitories after this period, or where the dormitories used before this had been.  Damia did know that despite the lack of a few necessary facilities, they were very pleasant and comfortable.

The new common room was much like the Gryffindor common room—it was cozy, full of armchairs, and had a large fireplace—but it was a little smaller and rectangular instead of circular.  There were two doors leading to the boys' and girls' dormitories, but they led to two hallways instead of spiral staircases.  The hallways were rather small, with doors to the different dormitories lining it on both sides.  The rooms themselves had six four-poster beds adorned in very old purple velvet hangings, three on each wall, with a very large window looking towards the courtyard at the end.

~*~

September first came, a new school year began, and the training continued.  The weeks went by, autumn came, and the air got colder.  October came and the leaves fell.  November came and the sky grew white and cold.  December came and the snow started falling.  Christmas was coming.  Everyone was happy and busy.

Most of the students went home for Christmas break.  Those who stayed were able to enjoy the beauty of the Great Hall.  It had been decorated with twelve tall Christmas trees, all adorned in ornaments, shimmering garlands, and candles.  A light snow fell from the pale ceiling.  Sirius, Damia, and their friends were among those who stayed.  Although they had no idea at first, this Christmas would prove to be one of the most momentous times in Sirius and Damia's lives.

December twenty-first started out normally enough.  Everyone had breakfast together and spent the day walking around outside on the grounds, enjoying the crisp, bright day.  The sky seemed entirely white; a small sun glared blindingly and reflected off every single flake of snow, turning it into a blanket of glitter.  Despite the clearness of the atmosphere, however, there seemed to be a slight hint in the air that it would snow again later.  Everyone returned to the castle that evening for dinner.

As everyone was finishing up their food, a lone, bedraggled owl flew in through a window.  Everyone watched curiously as it circled around and finally landed right in front of Sirius, clutching a letter in its beak.  Mail never came in the evening.  Never—unless it was an emergency.  Sirius blinked bewilderedly and took the letter from the owl's beak.  He frowned when he read the address, and the frown continued to deepen as he read the rest of the letter.  Finally he threw the letter down in disgust, his expression a mixture of anger and fear.  Damia leaned over to him.

"What's the matter?  Who was it?"

"It's my father," he practically spat, "that goddamn bastard,"

"What did he say?  What's wrong?" She looked around, speaking quietly and not wanting to attract anyone's attention, as this seemed to be a personal matter.

"Well, you see..." he struggled a little to find the words before he continued, "Maybe I should start by telling you about him.  But wait—" He looked around at the rest of their friends, made an excuse to leave the table, and led Damia out into the Entrance Hall by her hand.  

"Ok... now first off, my father is a pure Slytherin.  Which means he has all the stereotypes that go with the Slytherins.  When he found out I was in Gryffindor way back in first year, he practically went mad because he thought I was dishonoring his family, who had all been Slytherins.  My mother was a Ravenclaw, and she couldn't have been more different.  Lord knows why they married in the first place, but they divorced before I was born.  He was and a heavy drinker and I think he might have abused her—" He was interrupted by the opening of the double doors leading to the Great Hall.  Dinner was over and people were starting to come out.  Sirius quickly ran to the front doors, pulling Damia along, and took her outside into the evening chill at the top of the steps leading down to the grounds.

"Anyway," he continued, "I lived with her until she died, and afterwards I had to move in with him, so the law said.  He still drinks away his money, and he can barely afford to keep the house.  And well... I never really told him we were going out.  Until a few days ago.  I just got his response now."

Damia nodded, understanding.  He never told him because he was afraid that he would freak out if he knew that his son was dating a "Muggle-born".  She folded her arms against the cold.

"Would it be okay if I read it?" She was determined to see what this man thought.

"I don't know if you should, he takes a few shots at you," Sirius said, stamping his feet, positively fuming.  Damia took it anyway and read it.  It was short, but not lacking in meaning.  These sentences stood out especially:

_...You're as worthless as your mother... no son of mine will be in company of a Mudblood... As long as you live with me, you're going to be my responsibility... you're a disappointment to the name of Black... I'm coming over there to the school right now to settle you..._

She pondered the letter for a few moments, determined not to be hurt at being called the M-word by her boyfriend's own father.  Then she got an idea.  It came to her like a ton of bricks.  She looked at Sirius, her expression almost unreadable to him.  Almost.

"How long would it take him to get here?" 

"Well, he never learned to Apparate, he doesn't have the money for floo-powder or a broomstick, and he can't afford the Knight Bus, but he'll find a way.  Considering when he sent the letter, I would think he might be here tomorrow, maybe.  I really don't know.  Why?"

"Because... you know, there _is_ a way for you not to be his responsibility anymore..." She looked at him even more meaningfully, and he understood.  His eyes widened and he stuttered. 

          "You mean... are you saying..."

          "Yeah..." She smiled breathlessly, "Do you wanna get married?"

          He drew a sharp intake of breath and let it out with an emotional sigh as he spoke.

"Oh yeah, come here," and he drew her in and enfolded her in his arms passionately.  His warmth enveloped her and drove all the cold out of her body.  But they both broke away quickly, when they realized that Sirius's father was going to be at Hogwarts soon, magic or no magic, and he would be mightily pissed off.

          "But we've got to do it quickly; my dad will be here by tomorrow!" said Sirius, "And when he says 'I'll settle you,' it's never, ever a good thing." Damia nodded.  "Okay, isn't your mum in Hogsmeade for the holidays?" 

          "Yeah, she just arrived this morning,"

          "Okay, I'll go tell Dumbledore and everyone, and you go into Hogsmeade to get your mum.  We'll want her to be here.  And then go pick out your best dress and we'll meet in the Great Hall."

          "Yeah!  It'll be beautiful with all the Christmas decorations already there!"

          "Great!  Hurry!  Wait—do you want to take the bike?"

          "No, I think it would be quicker just to walk,"

          "Don't walk, run!"

          Damia grinned and started to run off down to the steps toward Hogsmeade, but Sirius stopped her with a pull on her arm.  The wintry, late evening sun shone sideways across the sky and lit up their faces like a mother's warm touch.  Damia had never seen Sirius look as animated and full of life as she saw him now.  His smile lit up his whole face, and his eyes sparkled.

          "Damia—we're really getting married, aren't we?"

          "Yeah... can you believe it?"

          "I would never have guessed it a year ago... here..." He pulled her close again and kissed her fervently before she gave him a last smile and darted down the steps and across the snow.

          ~*~

Sirius ran faster than he had ever run before up to the trainees' common room.  When he entered it he saw that Kalli, Remus, and Peter were sitting in front of the fire, with them James and Lily, who had come from their room to visit.  When Sirius burst in loudly and out of breath, they all looked up at him wonderingly.

          "Well Padfoot, where have you been—" asked James.

          "No time to talk.  Prongs, Lily, everyone, we're getting married in half an hour, and you all need to be there!" he said quickly in one breath.  Everyone just stared.

          "You're _what_?" Lily gasped.

          "Getting married.  If we don't, my dad will kill me.  I'm serious; I think he actually will."

          "Wait, wasn't your dad a Slytherin?  Why would he kill you if you _don't_ get married?" said Remus.

          "Because he found out that Damia and I are dating.  He hates anyone Muggle-born.  I'm his responsibility, meaning I can't make my own choices.  But if we're married, we're free.  Besides, it's obvious that we will eventually, so why delay?"

          They still stared speechlessly.

          "Hurry!  Let's go!  I still need to find Dumbledore!"

          "Wait, where's Damia?" said Kalli.

          "She went down to Hogsmeade to get her mum.  She's staying at the Three Broomsticks.  They should be back soon... come on!"

          ~*~

Damia ran as fast as she could through the snow, not caring about the cold, not caring about the dampness sneaking through her boots, not caring that her lungs were burning with cold.  She ran through the entrance gates and down the half-mile hill into Hogsmeade.  The streets were lined with lanterns that glowed warmly in the surrounding snow.  People were out and about doing some last evening Christmas shopping.  She ran down the cobblestone street to the Three Broomsticks pub and inn.  She burst through the door, a wave of warmth and loud conversation welcoming her.  She quickly rubbed her hands together and smiled at Mrs. Collier, the innkeeper's wife, and her little daughter Rosmerta.  She ran to the back of the pub and up the stairs, two at a time, until she reached the second floor.  She ran down the little hallway to Room 4, where her mother was staying.  She didn't have a key, so she pounded on the door.

          "Mum!  Mum, let me in!"

          The door opened and a short, auburn-haired woman stood there in her socks, looking concerned.

          "Oh honey, what's wrong?" she asked, giving her daughter a hug and rubbing her arms to warm them.

          "Nothing Mum, everything's fine.  It couldn't be better!" she smiled and took a deep breath.  "Sirius and I are getting married.  Tonight.  We want you to be there."

          Her mother stared open-mouthed.

          "M-married?  Now?  Are you sure—"

          "Yes, Mum, I'm sure.  More than anything..." she told her all about Sirius's father's letter. "...So you see?  We have to get married now, before he comes!"

          "Oh, but honey... are you sure this is what you want?  I mean... are you both ready for this?  Do you really love each other?"

          "We do, Mum.  We really do.  I've never been more sure of anything in my life.  I—I just—I know that this will work out..." She broke off mid-sentence and hugged her mother again.

~*~

          It had started to snow heavily and the sky was almost dark by the time Damia and her mother reached the castle, cold and out of breath.  To Damia's mother, Hogwarts looked like a derelict old ruin from the outside.  But once the huge front doors opened and they were greeted by warmth and the smell of evergreens, she gasped at the difference she saw inside.  Sirius, James, Lily, Remus, Kalli, Peter, and Dumbledore were standing at the foot of the great marble staircase, waiting for them.  When Sirius saw them, he rushed over and gave both Damia and her mother a big hug.  He had changed into his neat black dress robes, and Damia saw that the others had gotten dressed up too.

          "Ok!" said Sirius, "Now hurry and change!  We'll meet you in the Great Hall!"

          "I'm coming with you, Dame!" said Kalli.

          "Me too, we'll help you get ready!" added Lily.

          "Ok... see you all in a few minutes!" said Damia, running up the stairs and calling down to the boys, Dumbledore, and her mother, with Kalli and Lily on her heels.

          Twenty-five minutes later, Damia came back down the stairs, followed by Lily and Kalli.  She was very beautiful, in a calf-length pale pink skirt and a shimmery white V-neck sweater with white dress shoes.  She was holding a bouquet of mistletoe, ivy, holly, and some little red rosebuds, all of which the girls found growing from the decorations in various locations throughout the castle.  Kalli had pinned Damia's hair up loosely into a pretty bun, and Lily had put a little makeup on her—just some mauve lip rouge and some glittery eye shadow to match the snow outside.  She also put a little glitter on her cheekbones and her shoulders, to add a little more sparkle.  Despite the hasty preparation, she looked beautiful.

          The Great Hall did too.  The snow kept falling from the dark ceiling, and the torches and candles in the Christmas trees gave the whole room a warm, comforting feel.  The candles sparkled and flickered like bright little stars.  Dumbledore and Sirius stood at the end of the Hall, on the platform the staff table was usually on, but had now been moved aside.  James, Remus, Peter, and Damia's mother stood next to them, a bit off to the side.  They turned toward the doors when they heard them open, and every one of them smiled as Damia, followed by Lily and Kalli, began to walk slowly between the two center tables.

          "Dun dun dundun... dun dun dundun..." James began humming, as there was no one to play the _Wedding March_.  Soon everyone, even Damia's mother, joined in humming the melody.  When Damia reached the dais, she stood next to Sirius, and they joined hands and stood in front of Dumbledore as Lily and Kalli moved to the side by their friends.

          "Dearly beloved," Dumbledore began, much the same way he had begun James and Lily's wedding, "we are gathered here today to join Sirius Black and Damia Moore in everlasting matrimony.  This is a noble union, the strongest that can take place between two souls.  If anyone objects, let him speak now or forever hold your piece..." No one spoke.  They hardly breathed.  

"Do you have the rings?"  _Do you have _any_ rings_ would have been more accurate considering the rushed preparation, but Sirius took a gold ring out of his pocket, and Damia opened her palm to reveal another gold ring she had been holding.  She had been holding it so tightly that it had imprinted onto her palm.  Sirius and Damia looked at the other's rings and smiled deeply.  Dumbledore continued.  "Then Sirius, repeat after me please.  I, Sirius Edward Black..."

          "I, Sirius Edward Black..." Sirius repeated.

          "...take you, Damia Genevieve Moore to be my wife..."

          "...take you, Damia Genevieve Moore to be my wife..."

          "...to have and to hold..."

          "...to have and to hold..."

          "...for richer or poorer..."

          "...for richer or poorer..."

          "...in sickness and in health..."

          "...in sickness and in health..."

          "...for as long as we both shall live."

          "...for as long as we both shall live."

          "With this ring I pledge my love to you."

          "With this ring I pledge my love to you."

"Will you accept it and be my wedded wife?"

"Will you accept it and be my wedded wife?"

"I will," said Damia softly, a tear growing in her eye.  Sirius slipped it on.  Dumbledore then turned to her and asked her to repeat after him.  She did, not blinking or looking away from Sirius's deep brown eyes for a second.  She hardly heard Dumbledore at all, it seemed that she already knew the words, even though there had been no rehearsal.

          "With this ring I pledge my love to you." Dumbledore continued.

          "With this ring I pledge my love to you." Damia answered.

"Will you accept it and be my wedded husband?"

"Will you accept it and be my wedded husband?"

"I will," answered Sirius, his eyes shining brightly.  Damia slipped the ring on, her fingers trembling.

"Then by the power of this sacred binding spell of matrimony, I pronounce you man and wife.  You may kiss the bride."

Their eyes sparkled.  Their lips met.  The kiss was over fairly quickly.  But their life together had only just begun.

Their five friends started to cheer.  Damia's mother wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dress and hugged her daughter and new son-in-law, laughing and sobbing at the same time.  Dumbledore just smiled.  James shouted that they should all go down to the Three Broomsticks to celebrate, so everyone ran up to their dormitory to get their cloaks and things.  While they were up there Sirius and Damia decided to spend their wedding night in the best room the Three Broomsticks had to offer, so the two got their overnight things together too.  They walked back down to the Entrance Hall and met Dumbledore and Damia's mother there talking together, about Sirius and Damia, no doubt.

"Come on, Mum, come celebrate with us!" said Damia, smiling and walking up to her.

"Yeah, and you too, Prof!  I bet it's been awhile since you had a good ale!" said Sirius to Dumbledore, who smiled politely. 

"Thank you, no.  I still have a great many things to do around here, unfortunately.  A headmaster's work is never done..." he sighed in a somewhat exaggerated way.  "You kids go along.  And enjoy yourselves!"  Sirius shook the headmaster's hand, and Damia gave him a quick hug.

"Thank you, Professor," she said to him quietly.  He returned her thanks with a warm smile and a pat on the shoulder.  Everyone then went out into the snowy coldness of the winter night.  

They walked across the grounds, out the entrance gates, and down the road into Hogsmeade.  Sirius and Damia were in front, walking quickly and smiling until their faces were numb, holding each other tightly against the cold; James, Lily, Remus, Kalli, and Peter keeping up close behind them, laughing and singing lightheartedly, squeezed together with all their arms linked; and finally, Damia's mother, walking alone behind them all, her arms folded against the cold, smiling at them.

They came to the Three Broomsticks, which was the brightest and warmest-looking building on the street.  Many people were still inside, laughing, talking, and drinking.  As Sirius opened the door, a bell tinkled faintly over their heads, and a rush of warmth blew across their faces.  They walked in and found a large table in the middle of the pub where no one seemed to be sitting.  They all sat down and Susan Collier, the innkeeper's wife, came over to take their order.

"What'll it be, kids?"

"Well Sue, we just got married!" said Sirius, putting his arm around Damia's shoulder, "So a jug of your best ale, if you would be so kind!"

"Not ale, Sirius, wine!  Champagne!  Either will be fine, Sue," said Damia. 

"I'll just have a butterbeer," put in Damia's mother, "we don't get it where I come from."

"Married?" asked Mrs. Collier, still focusing on the first thing they'd said, "Married?  Oh of course!  This calls for some of our best champagne!  Year 1954, I've got it right in the cupboard—a full bottle, never been opened!  And how about a little early Christmas dinner for you all?  Shall we say... roast chicken?  Compliments of the Three Broomsticks, of course!  And a butterbeer for you, ma'am." she added to Damia's mother.

"Sounds great, luv, thanks!" said Sirius, grinned up at her.  She rolled her eyes and walked behind the bar and into the kitchen.

After a wonderful dinner of roasted chicken, sautéed vegetables with noodles, Christmas pudding, and delicious homemade wedding cake, James took his champagne glass and stood up.

"Attention everyone... hey, could I have your... could you listen up?" The whole bar quieted down and looked over to their table.  "Um, thanks.  My best friends Sirius and Damia just got married this evening—" he paused while the people applauded graciously for a moment, "Yeah, yeah, and since I was the closest thing to a best man, I guess I should make a speech.  Even though I've never been really good at them.  You know, I could say that since the time I first met the two of you, I knew you were destined for each other, and you could never be with anyone else, yadda yadda yadda.  But I didn't know.  I had no idea that you two would make such a fantastic couple until you told me six or seven months ago that you had started dating.  And I was an idiot for not realizing it.  Because you _are_ destined for each other, if you can believe in such a thing as fate.  And I _can't_ imagine either of you with anyone else.  There's not really much else I can say, except that I believe you two must be soulmates.  Nothing else could be more perfect.  So I ask for... a toast!  To Mr. and Mrs. Black!" 

Everyone in the pub grinned and raised their glasses.  "May they enjoy a long and prosperous life together!" James added, and sat down, tapped glasses with everyone at the table, and took a swig of champagne.  Little _clinks_ sounded throughout the pub.

"Hear hear!" said a loud booming voice from across the room.  It turned out to be Hagrid, who came over to their table and gave Sirius, Damia, and everyone else a big, bone-crushing hug.  He offered his profuse congratulations before nearly tipping over sideways from tipsiness.  James and Lily caught him and offered to walk him back up to the castle, as it was getting fairly late.  Everyone else started yawning and decided that maybe it was time to go to bed.  

Damia's mother hugged and said goodnight to everyone right there, giving her daughter and son-in-law an extra kiss on the cheek before climbing tiredly up the stairs to her room.  Damia hugged her friends and kissed them all on the cheek; Lily and Kalli kissed Sirius, and James, Remus, and Peter gave him big, brotherly hugs.  Then they all said goodnight a final time and the five led Hagrid out into the night.

Sirius and Damia were offered the largest room in the inn for their wedding night—on the third floor, at the very top of the building.  They took their things up the staircase and opened their door with a key.  It _was_ a large room—a king-sized, four-poster bed was in the middle on an antique carpet, a large chest of drawers was up against the other wall next to a large glowing fireplace, near it a vanity table with a large mirror, a group of chairs and a low reading table was in the corner, and a door leading to the bathroom, which had a large tub resembling jacuzzi.

Later on Sirius was sitting up in bed wearing his pajama bottoms with a piece of paper in front of him, waiting for Damia, who was in the bathroom.  In a few minutes she emerged, wearing a flowing, white, sleeveless nightgown; her long, brown hair loose and brushed.  She smiled at her husband and climbed into bed next to him, turning down the light with her wand on the bedside table, so that the only light came from the glowing fireplace.  They snuggled up against each other for a few moments before Sirius turned and picked up the piece of paper he had been writing on.

"What's this?" asked Damia curiously, peering over his arm to look at it.

"Well, since our wedding was a little rushed, I never really got to say all I wanted to when we did the vows.  So I guess you could say this is my belated vow to you."

"Can you read it to me?" she asked, smiling up at him.  He smiled back softly and nodded, and began to read from the paper:  
          "_I love you, to put it simply.  But much more than that, I believe that it would be wrong for us to be any other way.  With anyone else.  I think we are incredibly lucky to have found each other, because we could have been on opposite sides of the world.  We could have been centuries and ages apart.  For all we know, we could have been a universe or two apart.  But by some amazing, wonderful, glorious chance, we were placed side by side... in the same age, world, country, and even school.  And we grabbed at that chance.  _

_Some people have lived their whole lives without loving another.  Before I met you, before I had gone to school, I didn't believe I would ever love another.  After something terrible happened to me in my home life, I thought I was dead.  But you, as always, were there to save me, even if you weren't aware.  You are my angel, my soulmate, and my friend.  And now I have the pleasure of calling you my wife.  And I have the pleasure of calling myself your husband.  You are the most amazing person my world has ever known.  You have kindness, compassion, patience, humor, and most simply, but at the same time most complexly, love.  It is my privilege to give you that in return._

_All my life I had thought that I needed so much more to be happy and content, but as I sit here watching you, I realize that you are all I'll ever need.  With you beside me I feel like I can take on the entire world's evils and always end up on top.  Even if the world ends tomorrow, you beside me now is all I'll ever need to be fulfilled._"

Damia stared up at him speechlessly.  She had never in her life heard anything more beautiful, especially coming from Sirius Black.  She found herself quite unable to speak for a few moments, except for a few squeaking noises that escaped her throat.  Finally though, she found the words.  
          "Wow—I never—that was absolutely beautiful... I didn't know you were such a poet!"

"Well, it's true," he said, putting the paper down on the bedside table, "I never would have expected that we... we would be here..." He left the thought unfinished as he stared into her deep gray eyes.  

He never thought anyone on Earth could look so beautiful.  She looked like an angel out of a lost legend of the past, or a Siren from a Greek myth, or an unearthly goddess... or some other such beautiful fictional being.  All other thoughts were driven from his head as he stared into her eyes and held her close to his heart.

Damia found herself not able to look away from him.  The dim light seemed to accent every one of his beautiful features—his ebony-black hair, his warm, brown eyes, his lips, his neck, his shoulders, and his bare chest.  He did look incredibly gorgeous, especially the way he was looking at her now.  She slowly ran her hand up and down his chest and leaned up to kiss him softly.  He put his arms around her and closed his eyes as the kiss deepened... and deepened.  She began to kiss his neck, his shoulders, and up and down his chest, and then back to his lips, her hands running through his hair and softly tickling the back of his neck.  He also began to kiss her neck, her shoulders, and both of her eyelids, his fingers dancing up and down her back and through her hair, playing with the fabric straps of her nightgown.

"Oh Sirius, I... I love you... so much..." Damia whispered as Sirius ran a line of kisses across her collarbone.

"I love you too, babe... more than I could ever say..." Sirius whispered back.

Damia ran her hands slowly across his chest and over his back before her trembling fingers moved down to loosen the tie on his pajama bottoms, as Sirius's warm and equally trembling fingers started to undo the buttons that ran down the back of her nightgown... 


	8. Decisions and First Missions

Watch out for a little adult language somewhere in here, kids.  Dude, I think Dougray Scott should play Sirius in POA.  He was the bad guy in Mission Impossible 2, and he was awwwfully good (that accent... *drool*).

~*~

Sirius woke up early in the morning.  He smiled remembering the night before—the most magical night of his life, as far as he was concerned.  He looked at his wife now, asleep next to him, her long hair spread across his chest, and he smiled as if nothing could ever go wrong.  He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes contentedly.  

Until he heard the knock on the door.  

He sat straight up, lifting Damia off his chest.  Almost awake now, she sat up too and rubbed her eyes sleepily.  She didn't hear the knock, so she looked at Sirius curiously and playfully tickled his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she asked, kissing his cheek and snuggling against his warm skin.

"Nothing, luv... there's just someone at the door," he answered.  They heard the knock again.  

"Who is it?" she called to the person outside the door.

"Damia honey?  It's me..." 

Her mother.  Damia paled slightly.

"Mum?  Hang on a sec, I'm coming..." Damia climbed out of bed, bent down to pick her nightgown off of the floor, and laid it on the bed.  She grabbed her bathrobe and wrapped it around her tightly, the warmth of the bed already gone from her body.  She opened the door and saw her mother standing there, fully dressed, and looking uncomfortable.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry to bother you—it's the last thing I wanted to do... but Sirius, there's a man downstairs looking for you," Sirius looked up at her, blinking.

"For me?  Oh..." He realized who it must be.  "Okay, I'll be right down." Damia's mother forced a faint, apologetic smile and closed the door.  Damia looked back at Sirius.

"Your father?" she said.  He nodded.

"Must be," he answered.  

He got out of bed and started hunting for some underwear.

Ten minutes later, they were both dressed and walking out their door.  They had their arms around each other's waists, ready to face the man's wrath.  They reached the pub downstairs, which was empty except for a couple quietly eating breakfast together in a corner, and a tall man with black hair standing by the door.  His robes were old and faded, his hair unkempt, his eyes bloodshot, cold, and dark; his lips pursed, and an expression of utmost contempt on his face.  When he saw Sirius with his arm around Damia, his expression changed to utter loathing.  Sirius stared back at him confidently, not looking away from his eyes.  

His father gestured silently with his finger first to Sirius, and then to outside the door, which clearly meant: 

_You.  Follow me.  Now._  

He turned to walk out of the door, and Sirius, to Damia's surprise, followed him, his arm still around her.  When his father saw that Damia was coming too, he stopped as if to say something, and then decided against it.  The three walked out into the snowy morning.

They walked down the frosty street glowing with early dawn light; past Gladrags Wizardwear, past Dervish and Banges, past some more stores and houses, and out towards the edge of the village.  The houses began to be fewer and the road more winding.  Eventually they came to the foot of the mountain in whose shadow Hogsmeade lay.  They turned around a corner and came to a stile at the end of the street.  Here they stopped.  Sirius was holding Damia's hand so tightly that it had begun to cramp up.  His father turned around.

"So," he said quietly.  Sirius stared back silently.  "I went up to the school.  They said you were here.  That you'd been... _married_." He rather spat the last word, whether he meant to or not.  Sirius still said nothing.

"I take it you got the letter?" he continued in a calm but venomous tone of voice.  Sirius just nodded.  "And I take it you read it?"  Sirius nodded again, his expression almost as venomous as his father's.  "And did you understand that when I said 'I won't have my son in the company of a Mudblood'—" He shot Damia an ugly look, "—I was serious?"  Sirius finally spoke up.

"Don't ever call her that again," he spat, his eyes flickering with rage, "she has purer blood than you'll ever have," His father's eyes seemed to flash red.

"_If you ever say anything like that to me again, I'll—"_

"What?  Kill me?  That would look just splendid, wouldn't it?  Just like something a gutless drunk would say—"

"You're a disappointment to your_ entire family_!" his father hissed, spraying spit, his breath puffing into the air like a dragon's smoke.  

"_I'm _a disappointment?" Sirius repeated, "I, who love and respect my wife and don't drink away her money and abuse her?  _I'm_ the disappointment?  _You've_ disappointed _me_!  YOU'RE the disappointment!"

CRACK 

Sirius staggered from his father's hard blow.  He fell back, clutching his eye in surprise.  Damia caught him from falling over and stepped up to his father.

"HEY!" she shouted, "How dare you do that to him?  He's your son!  He's not blinded by centuries of hate and prejudice and ignorance!"

_"He is not my son!"_ He shouted back at her, though a little surprised at her boldness, "_No son of mine would dishonor centuries of status and reputation at the drop of a hat!"_

"I haven't," retorted Sirius, standing up straight again and ignoring his eye, which was beginning to swell, "I haven't dishonored my entire family.  The only family I care about is that of my mother's, which was pure and rational, not stuck-up and priggish and ignorant—"

"—I've had enough of your insults.  I came only to warn you," interrupted his father, who suddenly looked weary and impatient, "Listen.  You can stop this stupid business now—" his eyes moved quickly to Damia and back, as if she were quite the stupid business, "—and still keep whatever pride you might have had, or you can say goodbye to me forever.  You won't get anything of mine when the time comes.  And I'll never see you again.  You'll be dead to me."

"What, like I'm not already?  What kind of a father are you!?  You don't give a shit if I'm around or not; you just drink away all the money treat me like I were something shitty you stepped in.  You've never been a father to me.  And I'm _never_ giving her up." He leaned on Damia slightly for support, his eye now turning purple.  

His father set his jaw with resignation.

"Very well," was all he said.  He walked away, pushing Damia aside and out of his way.  She lost her balance and fell backwards onto a rather uncomfortable rock, taking Sirius with her.  She rubbed her back gingerly and stood up, pulling Sirius up by his wrist.  They both brushed snow off of themselves and glared to where Sirius's father had walked off.  Sirius spat viciously over the stone wall and gathered some snow to pack together and put to his eye.

"Are you all right?" he asked.  Damia nodded, "Come on, babe," he said, "let's go."  And they headed back to the inn for breakfast.

On the way there, Sirius winced and abruptly held onto Damia again as he almost slipped in an icy patch in the road.

"I've never stood up to him like that," he said suddenly.

"What?"

"Just now.  I've never had the guts to stand up to him like that.  Usually he'd just flatten me and it'd be done with.  But I got him back this time... we won't have to deal with him anymore."

Damia, having nothing she could really say, just held onto his arm.

"I bet he's been waiting for this.  He's wanted to be rid of me for the longest time."

"What's his problem?"

"I don't know... it seems like he's always hated me right from the start,"

"Yeah.  I guess some people are just like that."

"Yeah,"

"Anyway, I'm proud of you,"

Sirius took the pack of snow away from his eye and looked at her.

"Thanks... And thank you for sticking with me... it... means a lot."

She smiled warmly at him. "How could I not?"

They walked on for a few more minutes in silence before Sirius spoke again.

"So... how was last night?"

Damia stopped for a second with a loving smile.

"It was wonderful... it was my first time."

"Mine too," he admitted.

"Really?" she asked, a little surprised, "You used to have all these girlfriends... you never...?"

"No, I was way too petrified." 

"It didn't seem like you were,"

"Well, I wasn't with you... I dunno why, I just... it just felt right, being with you."

"Oh... well, thank you," she said, smiling and putting her arm around him.  He did the same, and held her closely against the cold.

When they arrived back at the castle that evening, they told everyone about what Sirius's father had said while, everyone admired Sirius's spectacular black eye.  Nobody was really surprised; on the contrary, it was what everyone had basically been expecting.  They had just been wondering when.  They were, however, surprised that Sirius's father had gone so far as to hit him; the man had usually shown some reserve, at least in public.  But overall Sirius was mostly satisfied.  He now knew that his father would never bother them again, and that was fine with him.

~*~

Soon after they returned to the castle Sirius and Damia moved to another one of the unused teachers' quarters like James and Lily had after they were married.  It was fashioned in the same style as James and Lily's room, except it had two large windows instead of one, and a few old books had been left on the shelves by whoever had lived in the room last.  The room was up in one of the towers, not far from the Gryffindor common room.  Damia liked the bedroom most.  It had a large four-poster bed like the dormitory beds, velvet hangings, and a large trunk at the bottom.  There was also another large window, another desk, and a few bed tables.  They liked it there very much.

Christmas was lovely in the castle.  It was definitely the happiest one Sirius or Damia had ever spent together.  New Year's meant that the end of training was coming.  Friday, January twenty-fifth would be their "graduation", so to speak, and the end of their seven months of extra school.  The ending ceremony consisted of Dumbledore announcing the names of all fifty or so people who had passed, and presenting them with a ring.  It was gold with a red gem in the middle that would glow brightly when a meeting was about to begin.  They would be required to wear it at all times, in case of emergencies.

A few of the older members were assigned missions right away, to check out suspicious people or investigate strange reported happenings.  Damia and Sirius weren't assigned missions right away, so they had time to move into their new home in Godric's Hollow, a small two-bedroom cottage.  It was cozy and comfortable, with a small garden that would be beautiful in the spring, along with a backyard porch with a porch swing.  The cottage wasn't as big as James and Lily's, which was large and brick, but they liked it very much.  They often went over to the Potters' house to visit them when they all weren't busy.  

All of their neighbors were witches and wizards; in fact, most of Godric's Hollow's community were magical, since it was founded by Godric Gryffindor about a thousand years ago.  The Muggles who lived there were mostly relatives of witches and wizards who already knew about them.  Remus and Kalli moved in together to a small city a few miles from Godric's Hollow.  They got a small but comfortable apartment above a bookstore on the main street.  Peter also moved into an apartment, and even though none of his friends had seen it, they suspected that it wasn't all that great.

            February brought Damia's eighteenth birthday and her first mission.  The meeting was in mid-February, and at Hogwarts, as it always was, since it was the only place where they knew it was completely safe.  They met late at night, long after the students had gone to sleep, in an unused classroom to talk about what had been done lately, and what should be done next.  Dumbledore looked over the faces, checking to see who was there.  The classroom was small, so those who didn't find seats quick enough had to sit on the tables, or the floor, or lean against the walls.  

            The Marauders, Damia, Lily, and Kalli stood together against the back wall, the torchlight flickering over their solemn and peaceful faces.  As soon as Dumbledore was done checking names, he began the meeting.

            "Good evening everyone, I'm glad to see you're all still well.  Well, first order of business is to see how things went this week..."

            He asked the various people who had been assigned missions how they had done.  Things had gone fairly well for most of them, although they'd uncovered nothing big.  Eventually they came around to new business.  

A man named Augustus Rookwood was the head of the Department of Mysteries inside the Ministry of Magic.  A few of his officials had been acting in an almost suspicious manner, seen consorting with accusable Death Eaters, missing from work for long periods of time for unknown reasons, and things like that.  

            "We don't have enough evidence against them to convict them," Dumbledore was saying, "but we need to find something, anything.  If we have Death Eaters inside the Ministry itself, Voldemort can get any information he wants about our most secret plans and knowledge."  He slowly looked around the room, the torchlight flickering in his bright blue eyes. "We need one of our stealth experts to sneak into the Ministry and find some evidence.  Damia Black?"  Damia looked up quickly at Dumbledore to see all heads turned toward her. "You and Sirius were the top of the class in that respect," he said, his eyes twinkling, "would you be willing to lead the investigation of the Ministry?"  Damia looked around at all the faces turned toward her and nodded slightly.

"Sure, if I can have some backup,"

"Absolutely.  Any volunteers?" Sirius and James immediately raised their hands, along with Peter a few seconds later.  Dumbledore nodded.  "Very good.  If you wouldn't mind waiting after the meeting, I'll give you the rest of your information then."

Forty-five minutes later Damia walked excitedly and somewhat nervously out of the classroom, along with Sirius, James, and Peter.  They'd had their briefing and were now heading to Hogsmeade to where they could Apparate home.  On the way out of the school, Damia babbled nervously about her upcoming first assignment.

"Wow, I can't believe it!  My first assignment!  I wonder how I'll do... I hope I don't mess it up... oh, and thanks for being on my team, guys.  I'm glad I'll be working with you instead of someone I hardly know... when do you think we should start?  I think we should start tomorrow, as soon as possible, you know?"

"Damia," said James, looking a little alarmed, "are you sure you're ready for this?  You seem a little nervous."

"Nervous?  Me?  No way, I'm never nervous.  I'm ready for this.  I know exactly what I need to do, and all you need to do is back me up.  You'll be right there in case I need you, right?    I can do this—"

"Damia, hun, it'll be fine.  It's all our first times too, and Dumbledore knows we're up to it.  You'll be _fine_," said Sirius, echoing James's sentiments exactly.  He put a nervous arm around her as they walked out of the castle to the village.

Five o'clock the next morning the four of them got together at their chosen meeting place—an alley behind a restaurant just outside of London, a mile away from the Ministry buildings, which were disguised as abandoned warehouses.  They had decided to investigate it early in the morning before many people were there, so it would seem as if they worked there and just arrived early, instead of showing up in the middle of the day or night.  James, Sirius, and Peter stood in the lobby, acting as if they were Ministry members waiting for clients, while Damia headed toward Augustus Rookwood's offices alone.  As soon as she reached the Department of Mysteries, she saw that, unfortunately, the witch at the front desk was already there.  It was no use trying to sneak past, so Damia walked right up to her and smiled politely.

"Good morning, young lady.  What can I do for you?" the witch asked.

"I'm here to see Augustus Rookwood," said Damia.

"I'm afraid he's not in yet—do you have an appointment?"

"No—I talked to him last night—he said he'd see me early today about something..."

"What's your name?"  Damia hesitated for a split second before answering, but not noticeably.

"Rosalind Pullen," Damia replied, borrowing Kalli's mother's name.

"Well Miss Pullen... we're not expecting him for another half hour or so.  If you wouldn't mind waiting by his office until he arrives, I'll tell him you're here when I see him."

"All right—thanks very much," Damia said, and she walked away, marveling at how easy it had been to get past.  Not only did they expect her to be in his office now, but also she knew how much time she had.  She walked down the hall past the other offices and arrived at a door that said _Augustus Rookwood—Head of Department of Mysteries_ on the plaque by the entrance.  With a quick _Alohamora_, she was inside.

She found a large room with a dark blue carpet and a huge desk against the opposite wall.  There was a couch against the side wall, across from a large fireplace.  She immediately ran a check through the room to see if there were any wards or alarms she might set off if she "explored" too closely.  There weren't, although there were locks on the drawers of his desk and the wardrobe behind it.  She started searching his desk first, looking for papers or anything that might give him away.  She found nothing, except for a small scrap of paper that said _Serpens—4th qrt._  Not knowing at the moment if this was important information or not, she copied it down on a small piece of paper in her cloak.  Not finding anything else significant, she started with the wardrobe.  Nothing, except a spare cloak and a non-magic broom.  She checked her watch—5:28 am.  With a start she realized that she needed to get out of there while she still had time—but too late, she heard quiet talking and saw the inside handle of the door turning.  Her heart in her throat, she leapt into the wardrobe and held the door shut.  Ridiculously remembering from _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_, which she had read as a child, that you should never shut yourself in a wardrobe, she held the door nearly closed and held her breath.  She heard the soft sound of footsteps on carpet, and of the door shutting behind them.  There was the rustling of a newspaper, the clearing of a throat, and the creaking of a chair as someone sat down.

"So, Mr. Avery, we'll be seeing you at the next meeting, eh?" a voice said.  It sounded somewhat hoarse and tired, belonging to a man of middle years.

"Yes, sir.  If you wish, I can inform the others." said another voice, sounding much younger—more like a teenager, really.

"That would be the smart thing to do then, wouldn't it?  Just see that you don't let on anything out of the ordinary."

"Yes sir... thank you sir, for everything,"

"That's my job, son.  My job.  You just do as I ask, and I'll take care of everything else.  Just do your job, and I'll do mine."

There was silence, and Damia supposed the two men had shaken hands.  She risked a quick peek outside the door to try to see something.  In a split second, she glimpsed a middle-aged man in gray robes, sitting behind the desk with his hands folded under his chin, and a young man striding out of the door, wearing dark green robes.  She struggled not to gasp as she saw who the young man was—Robert Avery, a Slytherin who had graduated Hogwarts in her year.

_Hmmm_... she thought.

"Oh, and Avery," Rookwood called after the young man.  He turned around.  "Be sure not to be late again.  The Dark Lord doesn't appreciate new members who find it impossible to show up when they're called."  The young man's face shuddered noticeably, and he nodded tersely before walking out of the office, closing the door behind him.  _Got 'em,_ Damia thought, making a mental punch through the air.

The man looked back down at his desk and started working on some papers.  Damia discreetly closed the door until it was a tiny crack she could barely see out of.  She must have waited about ten minutes, and he still hadn't moved.  Just as she was thinking she should have gone to the bathroom before she had come, she saw him abruptly stand up and walk out of the office, taking with him an empty teacup.  After he had been gone for a few seconds, Damia stepped cautiously out of the wardrobe and tiptoed toward the door.

When she was six feet away it opened by itself, and Rookwood stepped back in.                                         


	9. The Death Eater Meeting

Have you ever seen anything as interesting as a dog in REM sleep? I have. It's pretty funny.  
  
DISCLAIMER: The line "You can have me for conversation only!" belongs to my friend Megan, who spoke it to her boyfriend a couple of weeks ago, as he was dragging her across the hallway before school by her shoe. I have no idea where she got it from. Megan's cool-she dyed my hair auburn a few days ago and Alarun's hair blue. She's the queen of hair dye. Too bad she doesn't write fanfics... she loves Harry Potter.  
~*~  
  
Damia had no time to run as Rookwood's eyes opened wide in surprise.   
  
"Who are you-what are you doing here?" he exclaimed harshly, "Why are you in my office? How did you get in?"  
  
"I-I'm supposed to be in here," said Damia, thinking fast, "I'm the new night housekeeper-I was running a little late-I'm just finishing up here." He just looked at her. "Housekeepers are allowed to Apparate into offices, you know," she added when he didn't say anything. Rookwood narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Very well. Just make sure you know what time I come in from now on-I don't want to be bothered again." Damia nodded and strode out of the office-or started to until Rookwood called after her.  
  
"Oh, and Miss?"  
  
She stopped.  
  
"I'd like some tea," he said, and tossed her his empty teacup.  
~*~  
"So, this is all I found, Headmaster," Damia was saying that evening. She, Sirius, James, and Peter were standing in Dumbledore's office, showing and telling him what they had found. Damia gave the paper with Serpens-4th qrt on it to Dumbledore, who straightened his glasses and studied it carefully. "I'm sure both he and Avery are working for Voldemort-I heard Rookwood tell Avery not to be late for the next meeting. It looks like Voldemort doesn't take tardiness lightly." Dumbledore nodded and handed the paper back to her.  
  
"I see," he said, "Well, Damia, I see that you did rather well this morning-despite your near capture. Quick thinking, I must say."  
  
"Thanks, sir,"  
  
"Yes... well, I have no firm idea of what this means. I recognize the Serpens part, which is a constellation symbolizing a serpent, in the equatorial region of the northern hemisphere near Ophiuchus and Corona Borealis." Damia caught Sirius shaking his head silently out of the corner of her eye. Someone's been studying Astronomy.  
  
"I can look at it and try to figure the rest out," Damia offered, "All of us can. We can try to work it out by next meeting." She gestured behind her to the others. "It has to be some kind of code... it's too strange for anything else."  
  
"Yes, well, do the best you can. And let me know if I can be any help. Once we can get some Aurors over here, we can start bringing these people in." Dumbledore said, standing up to bid them goodbye. "Good job on your first mission, once again."  
~*~  
"This is it... this has got to be it..." Damia muttered. It had been three days, and still no idea of what 4th qrt meant. She suspected that Serpens referred to the constellation Dumbledore had spoken about, but for any other meaning than that, she didn't know. It was now almost one in the morning as she sat at her small kitchen table with the paper and a cup of coffee in front of her, still trying to make it out. Serpens, Serpens, Serpens... 4th qrt... does that mean fourth quarter? Fourth quarter of what?  
  
Just then Sirius stepped into the kitchen from the bedroom, clad in pajamas and untied bathrobe, all of his black hair standing up on end and his eyes half open as he blinked slowly. He made for the fridge first, before catching sight of Damia still sitting at the table. He blinked again and yawned as he tried to speak.  
  
"Damia? Hun, what are you doing u-u-u-up?" he faded out with a yawn.  
  
"I can't figure out this stupid message," Damia said, exasperated, "I'm close-I can feel it-there's just something I'm not getting..."  
  
"Well, let me know if I-I-I-I c-can help," said Sirius, yawning through half the sentence. He took an almost-empty bottle of milk out of the fridge and drained it empty, before replacing it there and stepping back into the bedroom. Damia sighed and took a last sip of coffee. She threw the paper down on the table and put her head in her hands, rubbing her eyes with her thumbs in an attempt to concentrate. She looked up and rested her chin on her knuckles, staring out the window at the sliver of moon. She suddenly sat up straight, still staring at the moon. She got up abruptly and strode across the kitchen to the calendar, looking at the date... February 21... she went back to the table and picked up the paper again... 4th qrt... Fourth quarter! The moon! That's their code! She hurried into the bedroom and tapped Sirius's shoulder, awakening him.  
  
"Sirius-Sirius, wake up! I've got it! The Death Eater's next meeting is on March 12, the fourth quarter!" Sirius grunted and rolled over to look at her.  
  
"Wh-wh-wha? Meeting? How do you know?"   
  
"Serpens. The serpent constellation. They use Astronomy as their code to schedule where and when meetings are. I think if we take this to Dumbledore he'll be able to figure out where it is!" Sirius's eyes opened wider.  
  
"Really?" She nodded. "Well, that's good," he said, and rolled back over, "we can go tell him tomorrow. Now come to bed, please?"  
~*~  
"The Death Eaters' next meeting is on the twelfth of March," Dumbledore was saying at their next meeting a few days later, "and we are going to be there. This is the ideal chance to see exactly what harm the Death Eaters are planning for their enemies, and also to get a better idea of how Voldemort acts among his own kind, as well as around his enemies. This just might be the toughest mission yet, since we still have no idea of how well the meeting area is warded, and we have no firm idea of how adept Voldemort is at sensing... people who shouldn't be there."   
  
At that moment he was cut off as they all heard a loud pounding on the classroom door. Augustus Flitwick, who was closest to the door, looked to Dumbledore who nodded, almost knowingly. He opened the door and Severus Snape stumbled in. He was definitely looking worse than usual. He looked as though he hadn't washed, changed, or eaten in a week, and when he spoke, it was in a tone that everyone could tell was desperate.  
  
"Professor," he rasped, "Can I speak with you?"  
  
"Of course," To the rest of the room: "Excuse me, please," and he strode out of the room with Snape, closing the door behind them. Everyone turned in their seats and whispered to each other in curiosity.   
  
"What's he doing here? Why'd Dumbledore let him in?" James said derisively.  
  
"And why'd he look like shit?" Sirius added.  
  
"-I heard he was going to ask young Emma Weasley to marry him!" a woman named Ellery Brown next to them was saying to her friend, "I wonder if she turned him down..."  
  
"If she did, he's taking it rather badly," said the woman next to her.  
  
"Emma's my cousin, and she hasn't mentioned anything," said a young man named Rufus Weasley, who was sitting in front of them next to his wife Pia. "But I suppose that doesn't mean anything..."  
  
The Order of the Phoenix waited for another twenty minutes while Dumbledore was talking to Snape. Just as they were beginning to think that something might have gone wrong, the door opened and Dumbledore and Snape walked back in.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen," Dumbledore said when he was back at the front of the room, "we have a new member! Please welcome Severus Snape." Snape was greeted by lukewarm applause. "Please take a seat, Severus." Snape sat. "Now, Severus informs me that he knows precisely where the next Death Eater meeting will be-and furthermore, how he can infiltrate it without causing any suspicion. Despite his claims of being able to work alone, I think we should still form a backup team..."   
  
As Dumbledore spoke, Snape sat down in the first row of desks and put his head in his hands. He really did look terrible- almost sickly. His hands were shaking and covering his sweating face, his limp black hair clung to his forehead, and he didn't seem to be hearing a word Dumbledore was saying as he chose members for the team, which included Damia, Sirius, Lily, and James.  
  
"Severus has asked me to inform you all," Dumbledore was saying, "a little of his recent past."   
  
He sighed.   
  
"He used to be a Death Eater."  
  
The entire room went completely silent, as they all gaped, (and some of the less empathetic glared) at Snape, still hiding his head in what seemed like near shame.  
  
"He has told me that he joined them under the influence of some rather influential friends who were already involved, and he'd been having second thoughts about it since the day he joined. But he's realized his mistake now, and is ready to act fully against them. He has not informed Voldemort that he's changed sides, so he can prove to be a great asset in our fight against him. He can still attend Death Eater meetings as he's called with little or no threat to his true identity, while at the same time knowing Voldemort's every next move. Are you willing to do this, Severus?" Dumbledore said to him. Snape looked up. Damia noticed that he had a magnificent black eye. He nodded, and put his head back in his hands. "Then the meeting is adjourned. And you should be sure to get plenty of sleep, Severus." he added.  
  
As they were all walking out, Sirius and Peter walked up to Snape and confronted him.  
  
"So what's brought about this sudden change, Snapey?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Yeah, bad side too bad for you?" Peter added.  
  
"Bugger off," Snape snarled quietly.  
  
"What, did Emma break your black little heart?"   
  
Damia smacked Sirius on the shoulder after this remark.  
  
"Shut up, both of you," she muttered, "You're not first years anymore, so stop acting like it." she said. She turned around just in time to see Snape whirl around swiftly to Sirius, their faces inches apart.  
  
"Yes. As a matter of fact, she did, Black." he spat softly yet venomously, "She found out about me. I was seconds away from asking her to marry me, and she found out. Are you happy? She did this-" he pointed to his black and swelling eye, "-and walked out of my life. Are you happy? Oh, of course you are. You already have a wife who already is bound to your side forever. Yes, be happy, Black. Be very, very happy." And he walked down the hall in the opposite direction. Damia turned to Sirius sternly.  
  
"Sirius, I'm ashamed of you. You had no right to go antagonizing Snape for no reason. He's obviously looking worse than usual." Sirius stared at her.   
  
"Damia-I never thought I'd see the day you'd stick up for Snape! What brought this about?"  
  
"Yeah, good side to good for you?" Peter asked her. Damia looked at him.  
  
"Peter... what does that even mean?" Peter shrugged. She turned back to Sirius. "Listen, I just think maybe you should lay off him for a while. He's looking like he can't take any more stress, or else he might explode-"  
  
"-And burn up in a second, with all that grease on him!" Sirius finished. He and James shook hands. Damia rolled her eyes with a poorly disguised smile.   
  
"You can be such a prat, you know?" she said, shoving him gently.  
  
"But you can't resist me, can you?" Sirius answered in a fake lovey-voice, bending his legs to her height and pointing in her face, "No one can resist me! I'm irresistible!"   
  
She giggled.  
  
"Stop it!"  
  
"You can't!" He poked at her playfully.  
  
"No!" she said in the same tone of fake-loveyness, "You can have me for conversation only! I will not allow you to touch me in any way!"  
  
"You can't escape me! No one can escape me!" he called after her as she slapped him away and started to run down the hall ahead of the group. He chased after her and picked her up, while she shrieked at him to put her down. He chuckled as he tickled her neck with his lips.  
  
"No! You can have me for conversation only! Put me down! Ahh!" She broke down laughing again as she broke free of him and he chased her further down the hall. "Stop! I'm available for conversation only! I will not permit you to touch me in any way!" But he caught her again and held her by her shoulders, attempting to kiss her. He would have if she hadn't broken into peals of laughter again. Instead he picked her up again and carried her along down the hall, the portraits on the walls staring after them with amused expressions. Behind them, Remus widened his eyes.  
  
"Wow... I guess we know who doesn't need more caffeine tonight..."  
~*~  
A grassy field. Eleven at night. Somewhere in northern Scotland. It was March 12, and it was raining freezing rain. No one dared an umbrella spell, so they all had to deal with raincloaks. Serpens was the only constellation visible in the sky at the moment-the stars like pinpricks of white fire, or needle holes in a black sheet held in front of the sun. Twenty members of the Order of the Phoenix were spread out, hidden by the gullies and thick tufts of grass, trying to get as close as they could to the protective wards set surrounding the hundreds of Death Eaters circled around a single cloaked figure. Damia had never suspected that there could be so many.   
  
Lying on her stomach and peeking through the grass she could just make out Severus Snape, standing with his head bowed in the exact place he said he'd be in. She was too far away to see too clearly, even with the temporary sight-enhancing spell she'd cast on herself. She was as close as she could get to the edge of the ward without setting it off, which was still too far away to her liking. She doubted whether anyone there hiding with her could be much help to Snape if something happened, but if they stayed put and acted as if they weren't there, she suspected that no harm would be done-they'd be finding out all their information from Snape, anyway. They were just there to make sure he wasn't alone, which the present Marauders hadn't liked when they found out.  
  
Sirius was twenty feet away from her, barely visible through the gloom and frozen rain. She thought she saw him look her way and smile, but she wasn't sure. She smiled back just in case and looked back to the meeting. Voldemort seemed to be talking to someone cowering on the ground. He flicked his wand and the person writhed and twisted, as if in immense pain. He suddenly stopped, then began again, more violently than before. Damia winced and looked back at Sirius. Looks like he doesn't treat his allies with equality-any more than he treats his enemies...  
  
The man was dragged back into place. Voldemort was now slowly circling the line of Death Eaters, looking each one in the eye and apparently making some sort of speech. He talked. And talked. And talked. Damia's lower body had fallen asleep. Just as she was thinking she might actually fall asleep entirely, something unexpected happened. The Death Eaters broke out of their motionless stance and let out what must have been a cheer. Then they all Dissapparated away. The wards were now inactive. Everyone from the Order of the Phoenix stood up.  
  
"Quick!" James yelled suddenly from where he had been hiding twenty feet from Sirius's other side, "Can someone detect where they went?" But before he could get his next breath, Snape suddenly Apparated near him.  
  
"They're heading for some towns," he said breathlessly, "A group is going to Queerditch Marsh. Quickly, they're going to kill some Muggles-" He Dissapparated away.  
  
Queerditch Marsh, Damia thought silently, and she instantly Dissapparated away from her spot with a quick pop. She appeared in a rainy street, along with the rest of the Order; little pops sounding their arrival. She looked around for Death Eaters, but there was no sign of any. She turned to Sirius.  
  
"Where are they?" she asked frantically, "Where'd they go?"  
  
"I don't know... I've never been here before-I don't know where everything is..."  
  
"Okay, we'll split up," said Lily to everyone, "Half of us down this way-half down the other. Go into all the side streets. If anyone finds them, sound the rings and we'll all know where you are, all right?" Damia twirled her ruby ring around her finger. Everyone nodded. Damia and Sirius ran with eight other people down the street to the east, while everyone else went in the other direction. As they ran past buildings and shops, some people broke away from them and went down side streets, looking for any sign of activity. Sirius and Damia ran on down the main street. Suddenly Damia felt warmth on her hand-her ring was glowing. So was Sirius's. She felt, rather than heard, a whisper from it-Juniper Street. She Dissapparated in an instant.  
  
She appeared with Sirius in an alley, next to a Phoenix member named Roderick Upton. "Over there," he whispered, and pointed out of the alley to a large brick house, as the other members Apparated next to them.  
  
They were too late. The Dark Mark shone a ghostly greenish-gray over the house, which was still standing. Whatever Muggle family inside must be dead, or dying-Damia thought she could hear a scream of someone under the Crucio. About ten Death Eaters were standing outside the house, laughing. More must be inside. As she stood there, supported by the brick wall of a building, she heard a new scream, and saw a flash of green light. Impossible as it seemed, she swore she could feel the unmistakable thump of a body hitting the floor. They were too late-there was nothing they could do now. Nothing.  
  
Damia saw the Death Eaters turn around and walk away from the house... towards them. Still laughing, they didn't notice them in the shadows. As they passed by, Damia's hand flew to her mouth as she saw who some of the people were-people she knew, under the dark hoods. People she would never-never in a billion years-expect to be here now. To actually be enjoying the death and destruction of an innocent Muggle family. Stephen Carol, a soft-spoken Gryffindor who had graduated the year before her. Julia Austin, his Hufflepuff girlfriend. Vinnie Sharp, one of the nicest Slytherins Damia had known. Peter Weston... Charlie Yotes... Paul Soek... Vera Lewis... and-no-Daphne Bell, Damia's own former roommate. The same Daphne Bell who had complemented her on her dress robes not even a year ago. Only...   
  
Something was odd. Daphne seemed to be walking rather mechanically, like a robot, while everyone else's pace was as natural as a group of young adults on a walk home from a pub. Suddenly someone flicked a wand in her direction and she fell to the ground, like a puppet being cut from its strings. She crumpled on the ground and screamed-screamed-but not as if in pain... physical pain, anyway. She shrieked and cursed the Death Eaters... and collapsed sobbing. Dry sobs hacked her throat as she moaned and screamed into the pavement. The group of Death Eaters stopped and picked her up. She was carried away, flailing and screaming in wordless hysterics.   
  
Imperio... Damia thought in shock. They made her kill someone under Imperio...   
  
She had been clutching tightly to Sirius's raincloak without having noticed. She looked up at him. His brown eyes were almost bulging out of his head, his mouth hung open loosely, and his Adam's apple was going up and down as he gulped for breath. Damia looked away and let out a wavering sob... her knees felt weak... it was too much... too much...   
  
Her legs gave out and she started to sink to the pavement of the alley, as Sirius and the rest of the Order knelt around her. She didn't care. She had just witnessed the killing of an entire family and the horrible use of an old friend... by old friends. Sirius said something incoherent to her and fished around in his cloak for something... he pulled out a small bottle and gave it to her. She silently undid the stopper and took a sip. Her eyes opened wider and she was fully conscious... but this only brought back a clearer vision of what had just happened. She moaned again with grief.  
  
"You all go to Dumbledore," Sirius muttered, "Snape must already be there-I didn't see him here. I'll take her home. She can't do anything more now." The Order members nodded and Dissapparated. Sirius picked her up and held her. "You'll be all right," he said to her, his voice barely audible, "It's all right." But his tone alone said that it wasn't. He Dissapparated to the street outside their house in Godric's Hollow. It wasn't raining here. He carried her up the front steps and through the door, and set her down once they were in the kitchen. He asked if she could walk all right alone and she nodded, and walked to the table, while he pointed his wand at the tea kettle on the stove and got some chamomile tea out of a tin in a cupboard. The kettle hissed instantly, and he poured her a mug full... then decided to pour himself one too. He brought it over to the table and sat down across from her, wordlessly.   
  
"I was so excited at first," she said suddenly, staring morosely into space. Sirius looked at her.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About joining the Order of the Phoenix. I thought it would be nothing more than an exciting job. I thought it would be a lot of fun. But I witnessed murder just now. Not only that, I just witnessed the total... taking-advantage of an old friend. By people I thought I knew... for something horrible... unspeakably and utterly horrible. That behavior isn't on the list of human abilities. No human being can do that without being completely transformed into a monster."  
  
"I know," Sirius said, "That must be what Voldemort does to people. He must completely brainwash them somehow. I can't imagine any other way..." Damia silently sipped her tea and reached across the table for his hand.  
  
"I can't believe I reacted like that," she said.  
  
"I would have been scared if you didn't," He sipped his tea and they were silent for a few moments.  
  
"It must have been hard for Snape to leave them..." she mused aloud.  
  
"Or else the brainwashing thing didn't work with him as well..." he pondered with her.  
  
Damia stood up and walked to the other side of the table to where Sirius was sitting. She sat on his lap, taking him slightly by surprise. He wrapped his arms around her as she rested her head on his shoulder. It felt very comfortable to be held like this. It reminded her of how her father used to hold her after a particularly bad nightmare... only this time the nightmare was real.   
  
She eventually nodded off against his shoulder. 


	10. Special Delivery

DISCLAIMER: Aw, must I really disclaim anything? *sighs* Okay, I don't own Harry Potter, but I own this plot, any characters you don't recognize from the books, and Sirius Black. I bought him from J.K. Rowling for a bag of extra large Pixi Stix. Yummm, pure flavored sugar... but he was worth it.  
  
This is dedicated to SunShine*Malfoy and Alarun, the only people who review me anymore. You guys rock the casbah! To anyone else who reads this: PLEASE KEEP READING! I GUARANTEE THIS WON'T SUCK! THIS IS TOTALLY WORTH YOUR TIME! *ahem* Okay, if someone gets me a Kleenex, I'll probably be okay... you can read the chapter now...   
  
Oh, and when you get to the part about Sirius in leather, just picture Trent Reznor from the Nine Inch Nails video Closer. *drools* Trent is also very Snapeish, by the way. Very very. *drools some more*  
  
~*~  
  
SPECIAL DELIVERY   
  
Damia didn't volunteer for many assignments for a while. She literally felt sick and nauseous, and didn't leave the house much. Sirius explained her absence at the next Order of the Phoenix meeting a few days later, saying that the events of that night had greatly shaken her up emotionally, and she wasn't feeling up for much work. Sirius rode his flying motorcycle home late that night to find that she had gone to bed; her light was off. He silently slipped on his pajamas and climbed into bed next to her. Thinking she was asleep, it came as somewhat of a surprise when she turned over and asked softly:  
  
"How did it go?"  
  
"Not bad," he whispered back, "I'm not doing anything this week. Moony and Kalli are going to investigate someone else in the Ministry tomorrow. Everyone was asking about you."  
  
She smiled grimly.  
  
"What'd Dumbledore say?"  
  
"He said he was kind of worried about you, since you seem to be taking this rather badly. But then that was understandable. You... are a very sensitive and caring person, and you care a lot about your friends. Knowing the ugly truth about some of them now has really affected you."  
  
"Hmm..." It sounded like something her mother would say.  
  
"That's what he said, but I completely agree with him." Sirius added.  
  
"Yeah... I just feel horrible now, though. It's like I don't know who to trust, or who to expect to die next, or who to expect to have turned sides. It could be anyone."  
  
"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's depressing, really."  
  
"Not only that, but it's kind of crippling. I don't know who to believe, or who to trust... except you all."  
  
"Yeah, you'll always have us. And me."  
  
Damia smiled and snuggled closer to him.   
  
"I know," she said. She wondered if it would be true.  
  
~*~  
  
Damia's gloominess seemed to fade away gradually with winter. As soon as spring came the small garden in back of their cottage turned into a beautiful tangle of vines and Victorian roses, flowers of every color carpeting the ground. Working in the garden every day seemed to lift her spirits greatly, so she attended meetings again, although Dumbledore discreetly didn't press her to volunteer for any more missions at first. As soon as June came, though, she felt up to taking part in small assignments.   
  
Snape was the only one necessary now to attend Death Eater meetings, so other members weren't called on for help. Sometimes he would return to report information looking rather sickly, not unlike his appearance when he first joined the Order. Talk that this was due to the Crucius curse was quickly silenced, but not too convincingly. Snape was the kind of person who gave only the necessary information at meetings, and didn't let on anything personal.  
  
They continued to hear more and more news of Voldemort's actions. This family had been killed, that family had been tortured. The Dark Mark was showing up more frequently now. As things gradually got worse, the Order of the Phoenix had to exercise great care to get as much information as they could from each incident, and try not to panic about the safety of their personal lives. The Ministry was handling things rather badly. Talk of the Imperius curse in there had people paranoid about everyone. The Aurors seemed to be the only people in the Ministry who could be trusted completely.   
  
One good thing about all this was that the Order of the Phoenix had been responsible for the captures of many Death Eaters. Once they had enough information to convict someone, Aurors were called in to track them and take them in. The one big difference between the Aurors and the Order of the Phoenix was that the Order usually only did undercover work, while the Aurors went after confirmed Death Eaters and those loyal to the Dark Side, and took them in. It was a much more dangerous job, one which Damia was glad she hadn't gotten herself into. The Order was difficult enough.  
  
~*~  
  
The summer passed more quickly than any of them would have expected, and before anyone knew it, it was September, and students were arriving at Hogwarts again. October came right after, and then November. It was then that the Potters had some news. Lily told them one night when they were having dinner at the Potter house, enjoying a rare night of tranquility. She held up her hand to silence Sirius and James's never-ending argument about which Quidditch team was the best in the league. She cleared her throat as everyone looked at her, and then smiled warmly.  
  
"Well, everyone... I guess this is a good time to tell you that James and I have some news-" James suddenly smiled too, and moved closer to Lily so he could put his arm around her shoulders. Everyone looked at them.  
  
"What?" asked Sirius, Damia, Remus, and Kalli at the same time. Peter looked up from his plate.  
  
"Umm... well, I went to the doctor Wednesday..."   
  
"The witch doctor?"   
  
Lily rolled her eyes.  
  
"Yes Sirius, the witch doctor. And she said that..."  
  
"Wellll?" Sirius pressed.  
  
"Well, it turns out that... we're pregnant!" Lily's smile deepened along with James's, who kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"Really?" asked Damia, elatedly.  
  
"Really!"   
  
"Oh, Lils, that's wonderful!" said Sirius, who moved over to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek too.  
  
"I know, congratulations!" added Damia, hugging her.  
  
"When are you due, Lil?" Remus asked from across the table, holding Kalli's hand.  
  
"August second!"  
  
"Hey, if it's a boy, will you name it after me?"  
  
"We *seriously* thought we would, Padfoot old boy," said James from the bottom of his heart, "But now we're thinking of naming it after my dad, Harry." James's father had died of cancer a few months ago.  
  
"Ah. What if it's a girl?"  
  
"Well, I've always liked the name Camilla," said Lily, "or maybe Chloe,"  
  
"No, *you've* always liked Chloe," corrected James, "I like Camilla though, or maybe Wendy."  
  
"Prongs, *Wendy?*" asked Sirius shrewdly, "How about Gwendoline, or Magdalena?"  
  
"No." said James simply.  
  
"Genevieve, Gabriella, Galadriel, Gwendolen, Gwendoline, Gwenevere..." Sirius ran off on his fingers, "There are so many places you can go with G..."  
  
"Camilla," said Lily said firmly, "Harry, if it's a boy."   
  
They continued with this conversation throughout dinner, and only stopped when they all got up to clear the table and move into the living room for drinks. They would have continued had not Sirius, Remus, and James gotten into another argument about whether a boy would care if he were named Sue. Damia went with Lily into the kitchen to help clean up. As Lily flicked her wand at the sink and made the dishes start washing themselves, Damia turned to her.  
  
"Wow, Lil... you're going to be a mommy! Are you excited?" Lily beamed.  
  
"Oh, yeah. I don't think I've ever been this excited! James either-you should have seen when I told him. He just stood there, gulping like a fish..." She giggled. "I've never seen him act this way before. Although..." she suddenly grew more serious, "I'm glad he took it as well as he did. We..." she swallowed, ...we didn't really plan this, you know. I think I must have forgotten the birth control charm. I'm... I'm kind of nervous... I mean, I'm only nineteen."  
  
"Oh, Lil..." Damia put her hand on Lily's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll make a wonderful mother. You... are so cool... any kid would love you! And you're one of the strongest people I know. I'm sure you'll do fine." Lily smiled slightly, and then looked worried again.  
  
"But raising a child at a time like this... I don't know if I want him to grow up at a time when you can't trust anyone, and every second you fear for you life. I mean... Voldemort is corrupting lives. And half the world is in ignorance of that. I don't know if a little kid can handle it..." Damia was silent for a few moments. That was exactly what she had been thinking, but she couldn't tell that to Lily now, how good would that make her feel?  
  
"Lily, this kid is going to be fine. You might not know it, but you and James are going to be the best parents anyone could have. You're... completely responsible and really fun at the same time. When this baby arrives you won't have any doubt of how much better he'll make your lives. Or she..." she added. Lily smiled again. "This kid will show us that despite all the death and destruction that's going on now, life will always go on. In the middle of all this bad stuff we need a little love right now. This kid is going to give you both that." Lily suddenly hugged her.  
  
"Oh, Dame... thank you. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."  
  
"No problem."  
  
"You should be a writer," Lily added. Damia laughed.  
  
"Yeah, maybe I should..." They smiled and hugged again and went into the living room to join the others. The living room was easily the largest room in the house, with a high ceiling, large fireplace, and very thick antique carpet. A long sofa was across from the fireplace, where Remus, Kalli, and Sirius were sitting, and two large armchairs were perpendicular to it and the fireplace. Peter and James sat in these. When Lily and Damia walked in, Sirius looked up at them from his seat.  
  
"So... how did the soap opera go?" Damia stared at him.  
  
"What? Did you hear us talking?"  
  
"Of course. You were right in the next room. Would you like me to play some violins next time?" Damia smacked him on the back of the head while everyone else giggled discreetly.  
  
"You prat."  
  
"I know. But seriously though, that was very nice. Here, have a drink." Sirius offered her a butterbeer, but she shook her head.  
  
"No thanks." She sat down next to him, while Lily sat on James's lap. The conversation turned to something else for a while.  
  
Half an hour later, in the middle of reminiscing about Hogwarts, Remus suddenly spoke up.  
  
"Uhh... Might this also be a good time to announce that we're engaged?" Everyone looked at him and Kalli sitting together.  
  
"What?" they all asked.  
  
"Remus and I are engaged!" said Kalli.  
  
"Really?" they asked in unison, after a pause.  
  
"Yep." They were silent for a few seconds, and then erupted into loud cheers and praise. Another round of drinks went around while Remus and Kalli got a hug from everyone. Through all the noise Sirius shouted that they should all go to the Winged Horse, one of the best restaurants in Diagon Alley, to celebrate James and Lily's baby, Remus and Kalli's engagement, and Sirius and James's nineteenth birthdays, which were both the next week. Everyone agreed and fell back into happy conversation.  
  
~*~  
  
A week later James, Lily, Remus, Kalli, and Peter were sitting inside the Winged Horse at their table near the front window, waiting for Sirius and Damia to arrive. James looked at his watch.  
  
"They're half an hour late," he said, "wonder what's keeping them."  
  
"I hope nothing happened," said Peter nervously.  
  
"Of course nothing happened," said Kalli, "Sirius has probably just lost track of time fixing his hair or something." At that moment they all heard a loud roar outside on the street. They looked and saw Sirius land his motorcycle, with Damia sitting behind him. He screeched his tires as he circled around the square and parked near the door to the restaurant. As they dismounted groups of people came up to the bike to get a better look. Sirius appeared to take the attention very nicely, smiling charmingly and running his hands through his shoulder-length black hair, while Damia just rolled her eyes and pulled him into the restaurant by his sleeve, leaving the people to admire the bike. They walked in together and found their friends' table. Everyone now saw that Sirius was wearing tight leather Muggle pants, along with tall boots and a leather jacket. Lily and Kalli giggled.  
  
"You look like a Muggle," Kalli chortled at Sirius.  
  
"Why so late, Padfoot?" asked James with a smile. Sirius gave a crooked grin in return.  
  
"Took forever for me to get into these," he muttered, pulling at the leather pants.  
  
~*~   
  
Remus and Kalli were married the first of April, exactly two months after Damia's nineteenth birthday. It was a small ceremony in Kalli's parents' back garden. An arbor at the end of the garden path was tangled with vines and spring roses, making the surrounding air smell cool and sweet. At the arbor Remus and Kalli exchanged vows, Remus in handsome dress robes and Kalli in a light, flowing gown. The unseasonably warm sun shone through the delicate leaves of the trees, making everything seem a light, glowing green. Damia watched Kalli as Remus spoke his vows to her.   
  
They seemed so different and so alike at the same time. She was small and slight next to his taller figure. Her blonde hair brushed her shoulders softly in the breeze. His light brown hair matched the color of his eyes perfectly. Remus was so sweet and mellow when he wasn't in his werewolf form... in his real body they were a perfect match. Damia was very happy that Remus had Kalli to help him recover after each full moon. They had worked out a system where every full moon, Kalli would be perfectly safe while Remus was out in a remote area with James, Sirius, and Peter. Tonight, in fact, was a new moon. Damia wasn't sure if it had been intentional to have the wedding today, as sort of an opposite to the most frightening time of the month for them, or if it was just a coincidence. It didn't matter.  
  
~*~  
  
Their lives went on. A few months later Lily and James found themselves at the hospital, about to be parents. Lily had gone into labor very early one morning in late July, and as soon as James had contacted everyone, they had all joined them at the hospital before the sun had risen. They waited there all day, alternately keeping Lily company and restlessly walking the halls of the hospital. This went on all day and into the night. Around midnight, Lily was moved to the delivery room, James going with her, with everyone else waiting outside in the hall in rapt silence. After a few minutes they heard an unmistakable wail of a newborn baby. Looking at each other with suppressed elation, no one made a sound until James walked out of the delivery room door a while later, very pale.  
  
"It's a boy," he said shakily, "it's Harry."  
  
Nobody spoke.  
  
"Can we... can we see him?" asked Sirius.  
  
"Yeah... he-he's beautiful." When they were told Lily was ready, they all walked into the room and saw Lily lying in a bed, holding a small bundle of blankets. Inside them was a tiny baby boy, with tufts of fuzzy black hair. Lily looked at them all, smiling with tears in her eyes. She was exhausted, but never looked happier. Lily and James both started to cry then, which made everyone else get teary. Sirius's eyes were dry, but he was glowing like Damia had never seen him. James wiped another tear from his eyes as Lily handed Harry to him. They each kissed Lily and Harry, who was just beautiful-as newborn babies go. Damia and Kalli kissed James, and Sirius, Remus, and Peter each gave him a big hug. Then everyone got to hold Harry, who looked at them all with bright green eyes.  
  
"I've never seen a baby with green eyes before," Damia said as she held him, "usually their eyes are blue when they're born."  
  
"They're just like yours, Lil," said Remus.  
  
"But his face is completely James," noted Kalli, "and his hair. Look, it already sticks up on end!" Damia gave Harry back to Lily as a nurse shooed them out of the room.  
  
"You can come back tomorrow, this woman needs her rest!" she said.  
  
"I swear, that must be Madam Pomfrey," muttered Sirius.  
  
"We'll come back tomorrow, Lil," said Damia, "just rest easy until then. And jeez... congratulations!" 


	11. CHRISTMAS PARTY!

Wow, this Christmas Chapter is right on time!  I had no way of knowing that eight months ago when I wrote the whole timeline for this story... those work very, very well, by the way.  Dances around I know what's gonna happen...!  Oh yeah, don't get drunk like Siri and Remmie... or me.  Durn right alcohol is a depressant; I cried for half an hour straight after drinking and watching Armageddon.  Just ask Alarun, it was at her house... anyway, on with the Christmas Chapter!

Kalli was pregnant.  They found out that October, and she had already been a month along by then.  As soon as he found out he was going to be a father, Remus suddenly changed from sweet and mellow to as energetic and bouncy as a kid himself, to the great amusement and exasperation of his friends and wife.  Kalli was excused from the Order of the Phoenix, along with Lily, who had been on maternity leave since she was three months pregnant.  The Order was too dangerous for babies.

Things were going rather well now, considering their current situation.  More and more Death Eaters were being brought in and less families were dying.  That December was one of the best times they ever spent together.  Sunday, December twenty first was Sirius and Damia's second anniversary, and James and Lily threw a party for them at their house, with all their relatives and friends.

Things started out fairly normal, with carols, a Christmas feast, and party games such as Charades and Telephone, but as the night wore on, and as the friends and relatives got drunker and drunker, things started getting crazy.  

"Well, Jamesie—Jamesiemyfriend—this is a helluva party you got goin' on..." said a Slightly Drunk Sirius, as he threw his arm over his best friend's shoulder, "We should do it again sometime..." James took another swig of Christmas Spice Butterbeer and slapped his hand on Sirius's shoulder, trying to look at him clearly.

"Hell yeah... 'cept Christmas isn't coming for 'nother year..."

"Who bloody cares?" shouted Sirius before breaking down into peals of more laughter, "Hey, where's Remmie?"  Before he got the sentence fully out, they all heard a shout from the hallway.  They stumbled into the hall with the other drunken relatives to find Remus Lupin in his boxer shorts and socks, pants on his head, standing at the top of the stairs... well, stair banister actually.  How he was able to balance on a stair banister after the amount of alcohol he had consumed, no one knew.  He yelled again.

"WOOOOOOOOHOOO!  WATCH THIS, YA TWATFACED CABBAGES!"

Kalli came into the hall just in time to see Remus surf down the banister in his socks.  Everyone shrieked and cheered as he slid down, amazingly well balanced.  His moment of triumph lasted only two seconds after that, however, as he hit the post at the bottom of the stairs with full force.  He tumbled head over heels and landed on his back, groaning with pain.  Everyone backed away as Kalli approached him, giving him a My-God-You-Just-Thoroughly-Embarrassed-Yourself look.  Bad idea to mess with an angry pregnant woman.

"Remus Jeffrey Lupin."

He gazed at her foggily from the floor as she glared at him.

"Hey Kal," he said with a crooked smile.  She continued to frown silently for a few moments before speaking.

"No more beer for you.  Or eggnog.  Have some coffee.  And put your damn pants on." She walked back into the living room, past Lily, who was holding Harry, and Damia, who had both just walked into the hall and were trying very hard not to laugh.  Kalli stopped as she approached Sirius and James. "That goes for you too," she said.  James turned to Sirius.

"Yeah, Paddy_-Padfoot_,"

"Paddy.  Footy.  Padfooty." Sirius gave a doggy grin and tromped over to Lily, Harry, and Damia, as everyone else went back into the living room to continue to dance, followed by James.  "Heeeey, Harry!  How d'you like your first Criss-Chrissmas?  'ave you seen the tree yet?  Com-c'mere, I'll show ya..." he tried to take Harry's miniscule hand in his and lead him into the living room with Lily still holding him, until James came up and detached Sirius's hand from his son's.

"Heey, Padfooty, _I'll_ show my _own _kid the tree—c'mere, Harry—you just go get me another eggnog." said James, taking Harry's hand and grinning when his son burbled and tried to suck on his thumb.  Sirius blinked and tapped James on the shoulder.

"Yeah, Prongs, but Harry's my _god_kid... an-and that's special..." James didn't seem to hear him; Harry was now shrieking with laughter and clapping his hands.  Lily kissed his forehead and turned to Sirius and James.

"You know, I think Kal was right about the beer.  Why don't you guys entertain the kids—and don't do anything stupid... well, just do what I would do.  Your definition of stupid is far different from everyone else's." She pointed to the large nursery in the next room where the guests' children were playing.  They heard her offer them Sirius and James, and yelled and clapped their hands in agreement—until a large lump of snow hit Sirius in the ear, then they shrieked in laughter.

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!"

Remus Lupin was now wearing only his boxers, his winter cloak, and his boots, and was standing in the doorway pointing at Sirius.  He ran out into the snowy yard.  All the children shrieked and ran after him, followed closely by Sirius and James.  The children's mothers ran after them, waving their coats in front of them and insisting that they not go out into the cold without them.  The living room now considerably less crowded, so Lily (complete with Harry), Kalli (complete with tummy), and Damia (complete with non-alcoholic eggnog, mind you) settled onto the poufy couch in front of the fireplace, the piano playing of Carol of the Bells by Lily's mother in the background.  Damia patted Kalli's tummy.

"So, Kal, how're you feeling?  You seem a little pooped." Kalli sighed.

"I felt a little sick this morning, but I'm fine now... Remus is wearing me out, though, I'll tell you.  I hope he'll calm down a little once the baby is born, otherwise I don't think I'll be able to handle both of them!"

"You know, James was the same way.  He was completely wild while I was pregnant, but as soon as Harry was born, he calmed down considerably.  Now he's just great with him, and Harry loves it, don't you Harry?" Lily tickled Harry's nose, and he laughed, grabbing at her auburn hair.  She giggled and rubbed noses with him as her mother Ellen came up and sat beside her on the couch.

"Lily, can I take Harry for a minute?  Auntie Muriel and Uncle George haven't seen him yet."

"Sure, Mum.  Who are Auntie Muriel and Uncle George?"

"Don't you remember?  My mother's sister Muriel?  Living in Dublin?  Came to your tenth birthday party?"

"Oh yeah, the one with the mustache?"

"No, the one who was knitting all the time.  She knit the jammies Harry is wearing now."

"Oh, so that's where they came from.  I was wondering; it seemed a little weird when Copernicus showed up with a package of jammies.  Sure, you can take him... just make sure he's not pinched and prodded, okay?" Ellen nodded smilingly and took Harry, who promptly started giggling and twisting his hands in his grandmother's graying hair.  The three women sitting on the couch giggled until an unmistakable snowball splatter sounded against the nearest window.  They got up and crowded together at the window to view a photograph-worthy scene—two gigantic snow forts had been set up at opposite ends of the yard, Sirius and half the children behind one, and James and the other half behind the other.  Remus was apparently a hostage, as he was bound and gagged behind Sirius's fort.  James's side was advancing on them, the children throwing and James magicking snowballs at them.  

A girl who they recognized as Remus's cousin Claire was sneaking up behind Sirius's fort.  They watched as she came up to Remus and untied him, looking nervously at the enemy children who hadn't noticed her.  He came free and gave her a hug, pulling her by her hand back to James's fort as Sirius's army groaned with disappointment and James's army cheered as Remus and Claire ran across the lawn.  

Lily, Kalli, and Damia giggled and went back towards the couch, only to find it occupied by Sirius's teenage cousin Damien and Kalli's cousin Rebecca in a rather, erm, suggestive situation.  The girls tiptoed inconspicuously towards the doorway leading to the parlor, past Sirius and Kalli's aunts who at that moment ran into the living room to separate the couple.  Protests and arguments followed the girls until they were drowned by the musical chatter of relatives in the parlor.

Back outside, Sirius, James, Remus, and the army of tired, wet children trudged back towards the Potter house, the gutters sparkling with fairy lights and the windows showing wavering shadows of people.  Sirius grabbed James and threw his arm around him.

"Nice fight, Jamesie-boy.  Too bad you lost."

"I still can't believe a six-foot snowman could destroy our fort, and you could have nothing to do with it."

"Hey, you know how snowmen can be these days... just get a personality of their own."  He was interrupted by a painful groan by Remus.

"Hey, sober now Moony?" asked James.

"Yeah... and now here comes the headache." Remus muttered, bunching up some snow and holding it to his forehead.

"Eh, serves you right for stripping in front of your entire family and hurting yourself for our entertainment." said Sirius optimistically, punching Remus in the arm.  Remus groaned again.

Once inside, Damia sought out Sirius and cornered him in the coatroom, angrily poking a finger in his face.

"You know, there are other ways I would have liked to spend our anniversary other than you getting drunk and me enduring suffocating hugs with old ladies I've never met." Sirius blinked and tried to look innocent.

"Hey, you know I've discovered a cure for drunkenness?  Just get someone to throw a snowball in your ear; clears it right up!"  Damia silently frowned at him.  "Okay love, I'm sorry.  I'll make it up to you... later... at home..." he smiled suggestively as Damia grinned back.  "We still have ice cream in the fridge, don't we?"  

Damia rolled her eyes and walked away towards her mother, who was conversing with James's, Lily's, Kalli's, and Remus's mothers in the parlor.  Sirius called after her, pushing his way through the relatives.

"What?  You love ice cream!  Why... oh, don't walk away!  Come back, I'm gonna make you a sundae!  

Yup, it was a hell of a Christmas party.


	12. The Good, the Bad, and the Evil

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE EVIL

Ok, I know Harry was born on July 31, but that doesn't necessarily mean that that's when Lily's due date was.  I just thought it would be a little more realistic if he were a little early or late.  I also know that Hagrid once said that there was never a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin, but that wouldn't be very realistic now, would it?

Well, things just keep on rolling here!  I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long, but I had the most horrible writer's block ever since New Year's Eve.  I'll try to get the next one up sooner.  Remember that I own nothing Harry Potter or any of that sort.  I only take advantage of a whole lot of plots out there.

Christmas Day came, a new year came, and winter passed.  

Things were going the same as usual with the Order of the Phoenix.  Most suspected Death Eaters didn't get away that easily, once the Order or the Aurors caught them.  Damia was now a full-fledged member of the Order once again, although she secretly felt incredibly queasy whenever someone she once knew was brought in.  It turned out that you literally couldn't trust anyone outside of the Order; half the people that were brought in she had either known from Hogwarts or were related to someone she had known, and she never would have guessed that they could ever have turned sides.  There was no denying that more than half of the Death Eaters they found had once been in Slytherin.

On a more sinister note, however, Order members had started disappearing.  It started after Christmas, when Ellery and Peter Brown stopped coming to meetings.  When their house was searched, it was clear that no one had been home in days; their canary was dead and their two cats were found almost starved.  Searches were sent out, but it seemed as though they had vanished out of thin air.  Their cats, meanwhile, had to be looked after, so Damia said she and Sirius would take care of them for the time being.  Little more than a week later, however, Charles Marsh and his brother-in-law Will McKinnon disappeared from their homes in the same way.  A similar search was sent out, with the same inconclusive results.

On the brighter side, Harry continued to grow with the love of his parents, and Kalli's unborn baby continued to grow along with Remus's decreasing energy.  It seemed that Kalli's pregnancy wore him out more than it did her, since he usually offered to get her anything she needed, to "stay on her good side" as he said.   Apparently he had heard exaggerated stories from James about Lily when she had been pregnant, and didn't want to risk getting on the wrong side of an angry pregnant woman.

At a meeting in mid-April, Dumbledore said there was going to be a private meeting between Voldemort and his closest Death Eaters, and Snape, not being invited, wasn't going to be able to be present.  Snape, however, had been able to give them a time and location.  April 18, sunset, Little Hangleton.  Not many people knew this was going to happen, according to Snape, so this had to be kept top secret, even with the Order.  Damia, being their resident spy expert, was going to be the one to infiltrate the meeting.  She would be the _only_ one. 

The evening of April 18 found Damia at the foot of the long and winding driveway of a large and decrepit-looking old house.  Damia glanced at the name on the mailbox (it had obviously been a Muggle residence): _Riddle_.  _Huh,_ she thought, _I wonder why he picked this place?_  She was about to walk cautiously up the driveway until she heard a noise from a little cottage at the edge of the lawn.  She saw a stooped figure through a window, leaning over something.  _The caretaker,_ she thought to herself, _I guess he's still here to keep the garden tidy..._ She decided that walking up the driveway was a bad idea, so she Apparated the short distance to the front door.  She was now out of sight of the cottage, the road, and any other windows; they appeared to be boarded up tightly.  She listened closely and couldn't hear any voices from inside the house.  Satisfied, she began her preparations.

Not knowing how well Voldemort might be able to detect her, she racked her brains to remember the stealth spells she learned in training.  If she was careful enough she'd be safe; Voldemort was a very powerful wizard, but he wasn't all knowing.  She took a deep breath and began, knowing her time to get inside and hide was running out.  

"Confusio Simulatio," she said, and she saw her cloak and pants blend in smoothly with the pattern of the worn wood of the door.  This would help her camouflage herself to her surroundings, like a cheetah in the grass.  She smiled at the image.  Next were "Reticeo Vestitus" and "Reticeo Sonipes", for silencing her clothes and footsteps.  Finally, "Polleo Audientia", for giving her temporary super-hearing, just in case.  She flinched at the magnified cry of an evening songbird nearby and headed through the door with a quick "Alohomora" before anything else could damage her hearing. 

            The inside of the house would have been magnificent if it was new.  Damia stood in a magnificent hall with a towering ceiling.  A large parlor was to the left, and a great dining room through the door on her right, all the furniture covered with white sheets.  A door stood open to the large kitchen straight ahead.  In the middle of the hall was a large stone staircase leading upstairs.  Damia could see different doors to other rooms upstairs on the landing.

          After looking around she spotted a large wardrobe near the front door that would do to hide in and watch for Death Eaters.  She silently crept over and opened the door.  A cloud of moths flew out of the wardrobe and made her squeak in surprise.  She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.  _Moths… moths… they're only moths…_ she thought to herself.  She opened the door the rest of the way and stepped inside, brushing moldy coats out of the way.

          No sooner had she closed the door, she gasped silently as a group of four people Apparated into the hall.  One of them was Voldemort; tall, thin, and the only one of them who wasn't wearing a hood and a white mask over his face.  He was truly frightening; Damia had never seen him up this close before.  Voldemort looked around silently, then motioned the other three to follow him.  They all walked slowly into the parlor and sat down.  Damia could hear them clearly from her hiding spot, but she didn't want to risk any of them noticing her, so she kept the door to the wardrobe closed.

          "So," Voldemort began softly, "Tell me what you found out from McKinnon."

          "My lord, he was most uncooperative at first—"

          "I don't care about how cooperative he was!  Tell me what you found out." hissed Voldemort, making the Death Eater who had spoken recoil in his seat.

          "Y-yes, my lord, of course.  He told us where the Potters were living.  He said they have a house in Godric's Hollow, twenty miles from Hogwarts."

          "Hmm, yes..." Voldemort muttered, mostly to himself, "No wonder I wasn't able to locate them myself, being so close to Hogwarts... very well, what else?"

          "H-he said that they have a small son as well.  Harry is his name, I think.  He also said that James Potter's father is dead."

          "From what?' said Voldemort.

          "Cancer, my lord," the Death Eater answered.  Voldemort made a dismissive noise.  "He died a year and a half ago."

          "So Potter and his son are the only two left..." Voldemort muttered to himself again.  He looked up and cleared his throat sharply.  "Gentlemen, have I told you why getting at Potter is so important to me?"  The Death Eaters shook their heads silently, and Voldemort continued in a soft and subtly frightening tone.  "It all goes down to blood.  The blood of Salazar Slytherin runs deeply in my veins.  My mother was a direct descendent of his.  When I discovered in my youth that I had it in me to become the greatest sorcerer the world has ever seen, I decided to take the challenge, but knowing one condition.  I knew that only a wizard with blood of equal strength and determination to Slytherin's could eventually defeat him or any of his line.  This was the blood of Gryffindor.  He unfortunately had the power to drive Slytherin out of the school in its beginning, and his descendents unfortunately have the power to destroy _me_.  Now that Harold Potter is dead, his son and grandson are the only ones left of that Gryffindor line.  I must take care of them before they discover this."  The Death Eaters didn't need to ask Voldemort to elaborate on how he would "take care of them".  They sat silently while Voldemort went on.

          "Anything else, Steel?"

          "No, my lord.  The torturing made McKinnon useless fairly shortly."

          "Very well.  This new information has made up for your failures with the Browns and Marsh, therefore I see little need to punish you for that.  But this shall be your only chance, Steel."

          "Y-yes, my lord.  Thank you, my lord."

          "I have little time for pleasantries, Steel.  Just get back to your post."

          "Y-y—" Before Steel had a chance to answer, Voldemort had blinked and Steel had disappeared.  Voldemort turned to the remaining two men, who were standing.

          "I shall summon my servant and inform him on what he needs to do, now that his information has credibility.  You two just continue to keep close watch for those infernal spies of Dumbledore's.  I can't risk anyone finding out about this, so tell _no one_, not even your wives and children.  By the way, Luke, how is your son?" Voldemort asked the taller Death Eater with eerie familiarity.

          "He is well, my lord, thank you.  Narcissa and I think he will turn out much to everyone's liking."  Damia caught a glimpse of Voldemort's foul grin before the three Dissapparated from the spot.  She sunk to the floor of the wardrobe and sat there long after they had left.

***

"This all has to be kept as silent as possible," Dumbledore said gravely after Damia had finished explaining what she had overheard.  Dumbledore, James, Lily, Sirius, Damia, and Peter (Remus was on another assignment and Kalli was at home) were all sitting around the Potters' kitchen table, horror-struck at the information Damia had found out.  Voldemort was after the Potters.  Lily sobbed quietly and leaned against James's shoulder.  Damia held Lily's hand and James patted her hair, looking very pale.

          "Voldemort is after us because I'm a descendent of Gryffindor?" he asked bewilderedly, through tight lips.

          "You and Harry," Damia murmured, "Only descendents of Gryffindor have the power to stop him.  That's what Voldemort said."

          "How, though?  I mean, I did pretty well in school, but I never suspected once that my powers were any stronger than anyone else's."

          "That is what we need to figure out," said Dumbledore quietly, "But until then my advice is for you, James and Lily, to go into hiding."

          "But he knows where they live, Dumbledore!" Sirius exclaimed from across the round kitchen table, "He says he has a servant who's close to them!  He killed and tortured Ellery and Pete and Charles and Will just to prove his servant right!  How can they possibly hide from him now?"

          "I think your best chance is the Fidelius Charm," said Dumbledore, his eyes resting on James and Lily, and then on little Harry, fast asleep in his rocker nearby.  "Does everyone know what that is?"  Everyone around the table nodded, except Peter.  Dumbledore explained.  "The Fidelius Charm is the magical concealment of information inside a single person.  The person is called the Secret-Keeper, and is the only one who knows the information.  Until he chooses to reveal it, that information can never be known to any other person."

          Everyone was silent for a few minutes after that.  They all seemed to be thinking.  After a few minutes, James spoke up.

"All right," he said hoarsely, "We'll do it.  Just... could you give us some time to talk it over, Dumbledore?  To... talk about who's going to do it?"

"Of course," said Dumbledore, getting up, "We'll keep in touch.  And James... Lily..." Everyone looked up at him.  "Please don't lose hope," Dumbledore said, "We'll make sure you all stay safe.  No one will let any harm come to you.  We'll all make sure of that."  He looked away sadly and Dissapparated.  Once he had gone, everyone looked at each other silently, and then burst into tears.

***

Two hours later at three in the morning, Damia was still awake.  Her eyes were puffy and all her joints ached, but her mind couldn't have been more alert and buzzing.  She didn't know if she'd ever be able to sleep again, with all this new horrifying information about Voldemort's targets.  She felt helpless, hopeless, and utterly bewildered at what was going on.  She thought of how she had felt not too long ago, when she had first joined the Order of the Phoenix.  Thinking about her clueless, naïve self made her want to slap herself across the face.  _This is so much more serious than that!_ she wanted to shout at that seventeen-year-old joke, _Can't you see how bad this is?  Your best friends might die!_  She shook her head inwardly and climbed out of bed, shifting aside the two cats who always slept with her now.  She put on her blue satin bathrobe over her cotton nightgown and walked softly into the kitchen, not wanting to wake Sirius.  She filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove to boil while she got some herbal tea out of a cupboard.  The kettle whistled quickly and she took it off the stove before it was loud enough to wake Sirius.  Too late, though.

Sirius walked through the bedroom door into the kitchen, wearing a white t-shirt and boxer shorts.  He looked just like Damia, just as tired and exhausted on the outside, but just as restless and edgy on the inside.  He looked at her.

"Hon, you're still awake?"

          "I couldn't sleep.  You either?"

          "Nope.  I was thinking of making some tea."

          "I just have.  Want some?"

          "Yeah, sure..." Sirius sat at the small kitchen table as Damia got another mug out of the cupboard.  She poured hot water from the kettle into the two mugs and stirred them both, adding a little sugar.  She went to the table and handed one to Sirius, then sat down.  They were both silent for a few moments as they sipped their tea.  After a while though, Sirius noticed that Damia was crying quietly.  

          "Oh Dame, are you okay?" 

She looked up into his concerned brown eyes and reached for his warm hands.

          "No," she cried, her tears coming freely now, "Nothing's going right!  Voldemort's after James and Lily!  He's after Harry – he's after a little baby!  Voldemort has a servant who's close to them, and we have no idea who that is!  He could be telling him all sorts of things about them – we could find them dead tomorrow!  And I-I don't know what to do!" she ended with a sob and picked up her tea again, accidentally slipping her finger in it.  

"Ow!"  

Her mug fell to the floor with a splash.  Damia waved her hands helplessly and buried her head in her arms.  But she felt Sirius take her hands in his and kiss her burned finger.  Oddly, it felt better already.  She looked up at him.  His tired, unshaven face was full of understanding. 

          "Don't worry, babe," he said kindly, smiling sadly at her, "Dumbledore knows what he's talking about.  This Fidelius Charm is going to work.  James and Lily and Harry will be completely safe from that dipshit Voldemort, and while they're hiding, we can figure out a way for Voldemort to be beaten!  We're going to do it!"  He stood up suddenly, his side accidentally hitting an old phonograph record player behind him into play.  A slow, muffled-sounding trumpet sounded from the large horn attached to it.  Damia had gotten the old 78-rpm player from her Muggle grandfather, who was American.  Louis Armstrong's unique and beautiful voice started singing through the horn of the player.

          Sirius looked slowly back at Damia, and she giggled, in spite of herself.  Sirius rolled his eyes and let the record play.  He spun around slowly on the floor, dancing to himself, before he spun around and turned to Damia, offering her a hand and a flashing, debonair grin.

          "Care to dance, my lady?"  

          Damia grinned in resignation and let Sirius enfold her in his arms.  They spun slowly across the floor, Damia's arms wrapped around Sirius's shoulders and Sirius's arms closed cozily around her waist.  Their steps slowed, and his lips lightly brushed her forehead as she breathed in the warm, masculine scent of his neck.  She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting her breath out in a peaceful sigh.  Her warm breath brushed his neck in the most comforting way; he brushed his fingers over her back and tickled her lightly on the back of her neck.  She grinned and kissed his collarbone, shrugging off her bathrobe.  She let it drop to the floor; it was too warm for it anyway.  

          They danced back and forth to the music, though they had nearly forgotten it was still playing.  Damia raised her arms and ran her hands through Sirius's black hair, kissing his lips softly and tenderly.  He closed his eyes as he embraced her, and let himself be carried away on the emotions he was feeling... emotions they were both feeling... for he knew that she felt nothing more or less than he did at this moment – pure love.  Love and the ardent need to be comforted.

          When they realized the music had stopped, Sirius and Damia looked at each other with an understanding, and then he picked her up and carried her to bed.

***

          A few weeks later Damia didn't feel very well.  Things were going surprisingly not bad in the war against Voldemort; Dumbledore had cast a distracting spell on the Potter house to make it twice as hard for Voldemort to find, despite him knowing already where Godric's Hollow was.  This was just temporary until Dumbledore could organize and make ready the Fidelius Charm, as it was immensely complex.  

No, this wasn't what was wrong.  Damia kept getting violently sick for no particular reason.  There was nothing she hated more than to be violently sick, and if she was, she wanted to find a pretty darn good reason.  So she went to her med-witch one Tuesday afternoon and came home quite shocked.

          Sirius was out at a meeting that Damia had felt too poorly to attend.  It was a stormy, late afternoon in early May, but Damia hardly noticed the pouring rain as she Apparated from the med-witch's practice to the path in front of her house, leading to the door.  She walked inside, hanging her blue spring raincloak on a hook by the door, went into the small living room, and flopped down on the couch.  She sat there, staring into space, for what seemed like ten or fifteen minutes, but was really forty-five.  She was startled then by Sirius banging open the front door in anger.  He didn't get angry that often, so she sat there in the living room, waiting for him to come in and tell her what was wrong.  He stormed into the living room, trailing mud on the carpet behind him.

          "Do you have any idea what a" —Damia blinked at his word choice—"Cornelius Fudge is?  He's the Head of Magical Catastrophes or some such shit at the Ministry, and he says we have 'bigger problems on our hands' than James and Lily and Harry's safety!  He thinks it's not plausible that Voldemort could be after just one group, despite the rock-hard evidence you've given!  He says 'It's not like the mind of an evil wizard' to just focus on one _little_ family.  Even after Dumbledore told him about Prongs's connection with Gryffindor!"

          Sirius kicked a coffee table.

          "I'll tell you, the Ministry these days.  It's really going to the rats.  Well, despite that jackarse, Dumbledore will make sure Lily and James get hidden.  So..." he sighed.  "What happened to you today?"

          "Oh, you know," Damia said vaguely, "nothing much..."

Later that evening they were eating dinner and listening to the thunder crash outside.  As they ate Damia kept discreetly changing the subject whenever Sirius mentioned her health, since she had been sick that morning.  After a while, though, Sirius began to realize that none of his questions were being answered.

          "Babe, are you okay?  You seem a little bothered."

          "Well... I've been wondering," Damia began.  She began to say something, changed her mind, and began to say something else.  "You know... with Lily having Harry, and Kalli being pregnant... have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a baby of our own?" Sirius looked surprised.  

          "Hmm... I've never really thought about it.  What are you saying, that you want to have a kid?"

          "Well, I don't know... I was just wondering what you thought."  Sirius chewed his potatoes thoughtfully.

          "Well... I guess it'd be kind of fun.  A lot of hard work, though.  My mum never let me forget it."  Damia smiled.  "I'd... I'd want the chance to be a good father..." he smiled slightly at the way the word sounded in his mouth.  "I'd want to have a chance to be the dad my father never was to me... you know, to prove to him that you aren't your parents, however they may want you to be."

          He looked down at his potatoes and moved them around his plate.  Damia chewed her green beans and decided that the time now to tell him would be as good as ever.  She swallowed.

          "Well then, it looks like you'll get your wish."  He stared at her.

          "What?"

          "I went to Dr. Northwood this afternoon... it turns out that we're gonna have a baby."

          Sirius's jaw and fork dropped to the floor.


	13. Climbing Action

I know the updates are slowing, but I'm not giving up yet—please don't you either!  I promise I'll have this completed... you'll just have to be patient.  Things are going to start heating up very... very... very... quickly.  Enjoy Chapter 13, in which a lot of stuff happens.

*

"Sirius?  You're drooling.  Close your mouth."

Sirius hadn't moved or blinked for thirty seconds at least.

"Y-you're pregnant? But how?"

"Well, there's this thing a guy has that—"

"Damia, you know what I mean.  Didn't you... you know... use anything?"

"Well, you prancing around the kitchen and winking at me kinda made me forget.  I had a lot on my mind then.  And I thought you just said you wanted to have a baby!"

"Well yeah, but now?  This is quite a time to be pregnant... you know, right in the middle of all this Voldemort stuff."

"Well, just look at it this way.  You told me that soon Lily and James and Harry would go into hiding, and then we could find a way to beat Voldemort.  I'm sure Dumbledore has the means, but he just can't or doesn't want to use them.  But if we find the means, we can!  As a wizard of the Order of Merlin, he's taken an oath restricting him to make his greater powers practically dormant, right?  But who says our powers have to be dormant?  The seven of us together should be able to figure something out.  Having a baby shouldn't be too much of a problem, then, except for all the normal responsibilities that come along with having one."

"Yeah, but I didn't think that when you asked me if I'd like to have a kid you meant _now.  A-am I even ready?  How old am I again?"_

"Twenty.  And so am I.  But look at Lily and James—they had Harry when they were nineteen, and they're the perfect parents.  And Moony and Kalli... all of us—well, not Peter—most of us are having kids at the same time.  We'll be able to help each other out.  _You've_ convinced me of that."

"I have?"

"Yes.  So... are you angry with me?"  Sirius stood up.

"Angry?  No... no, of course not."  He pulled her to her feet and hugged her.  "I'm just more than a little shocked, that's all... Jeez, a baby..."  His eyes were staring wide and he smiled open-mouthed as he held her to him.  "How big is he now?  Is it even a he or she yet?"

"Right now I'd say it's about the size of a pea.  I think it's a little too early to attach a gender to it."  She scratched her bellybutton.  

They stood there silently in the kitchen, their food forgotten, until Sirius spoke suddenly.  "Hey, are _you going to be okay with this?  I mean, you _are_ going to be the one having the baby.  Are you sure you... you're going to be all right?"  Damia gave a close-lipped smile._

"I'm sure I'll be fine," she said, resting her head on his collarbone and pulling him closer.  "As long as you're there with me."

*

Sirius and Damia decided that it would be best to tell everyone of their situation when their friends and family were all together.  They invited Damia's mother, James and Lily, Remus and Kalli, and Peter over to their house for dinner one evening a week later, while none of them were on assignment for the Order.  Peter said his mother was ill and he needed to be with her, so he ended up not going.  There not being much room inside the small house for visitors, they had dinner in the backyard during the early evening.  Sirius, in his spare time, had come across a large picnic table and had fixed it up beautifully, so they sat around it and ate chicken and salad, much like Muggles do at a barbeque.  As they were finishing their dessert of cinnamon-pumpkin ice cream, Damia brought up the subject.

"Mum, guys, I'm really glad you could come, because we kind of invited you here for a reason," Kalli, now eight months pregnant and working on her third bowl of ice cream, widened her eyes.

"Dame... don't tell me..." she said.

"Tell me what?" Kalli paused for a second, still grinning.

"I'll let you say it."

"Okay.  Well, this is good news, so don't get nervous, first of all.  In fact, this is the best thing that's happened to me in a while.  I... well, Sirius and I are going to have a baby!"  This announcement brought the response they mostly expected: Damia's mother burst into tears and embraced her daughter, Remus and Kalli came over to give her a hug and pat her on the tummy, Lily also embraced her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and James held up ten-month-old Harry and said, "You hear that Harry?  Auntie Damie and Uncle Siri are going to have a baby!  Won't that be wonderful?" Harry gurgled contentedly, and James went over to slug Sirius in the shoulder with joy.

The evening continued with happy talk about names, due dates, birthdays, and babies in general.  They stayed outside and had coffee and ice cream until the May evening grew too dark and cold to remain comfortable.  They moved their conversations and food inside, where they all sat in Sirius and Damia's small living room and talked until the late hours of the night.  Around eleven, when Harry had been sleeping in Lily's arms for quite a while, Remus suggested that maybe it was time to go home.  As everyone was walking out, James mentioned to Sirius:

"Hey, when will you tell Peter?  You probably want to give him the news in person."

"There's that meeting tomorrow, right?" Sirius said under his breath, even though there no real need to, "He should be there then.  Unless he can't, if he's still taking care of his mother.  I swear, that woman just seems to be ill every chance she gets; I can't remember the last time Pete got together with the rest of us."

          There _was_ a meeting the next day - a meeting that, unbeknownst to any of them, would ultimately take part in changing the course of all of their lives.  

          Dumbledore had called the Lupins, Potters, Blacks, and Peter to his office at Hogwarts in the late morning (it was a Saturday, so the students weren't in class).  Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magical Catastrophes who was the wizard at the Ministry put in charge to oversee the safety precautions put down for the Potters, was also present.  Dumbledore had finally convinced him that putting James and Lily into hiding was the safest thing that could be done at present, since James and Harry were the key links to making sure that Voldemort couldn't be put in full power.  When everyone was present, Dumbledore said:

          "Well, preparations for the Fidelius Charm are going as well as can be expected.  With the way things are going, we should be ready to cast in October."

          "October?" asked Sirius, "Are you sure that's as soon as it can be done?"

          "The Fidelius Charm is extremely complex, and takes time, Sirius," said Dumbledore, "We are working just as fast as we can."

          "Who else is helping?" Fudge put in.

          "Minerva McGonagall and Augustus Flitwick," answered Dumbledore, "They are the ones who have the most knowledge of the subject."

          "So, what else is there for us to do?" asked James, holding Harry on his lap.

          "Well, I brought you all here to decide on whom to appoint as your Secret Keeper, James.  No doubt you'll want to use one of your close friends—"

          "Sirius." James interrupted, "We choose Sirius.  I've known him forever, and he'll never in a million years spill the secret.  Right, old friend?"

          "He's right," said Sirius, "I _have known him forever.  You know how we first met?"  He looked around the room as a few people shook their heads, and a few (namely, Remus and Damia) rolled their eyes.  "We were born on the same day, at the same hospital.  Our mothers were roommates together while they were there, and they became friends.  So, we've literally known each other since we were born."_

          "Sirius," said Dumbledore, speaking very seriously, "are you willing to take on this huge burden?  From what I've recently heard, you're expecting a special gift in a few months—" he smiled warmly at Damia "—Are you sure you want to take such a dangerous job at such a moment?  I believe..." He leaned back in his chair and fingered the end of his beard worriedly.  "I believe that... there is reason to suspect that someone very close to you, James and Lily, has been giving Lord Voldemort information about you."

          Everyone in the room paled.

          "How do you know this?" asked Peter.

          "Damia said that when she overheard Lord Voldemort at the house in Little Hangleton, he said he had a servant who had found out secrets that only James and Lily had known.  How else could he be following them so closely before we had cast the distracting spell on their house?  There are just too many coincidences."

          "So are you saying that someone _here, in this room, is that servant?" James asked, rather intensely._

          "Absolutely not, James, I am just saying that we need to be as careful as possible.  I could offer to be the Secret Keeper myself, if you'd prefer."  James and Lily thought for a few moments.  When James spoke, Damia could see a sweat start to break out on his forehead, and his hands holding Harry were shaking very slightly.

          "No... Thanks, Dumbledore, but I think that would be too obvious.  I mean, I trust you with my life and all, but I think Voldemort would probably suspect you first.  He doesn't know about Sirius."

          "Yeah, and... Damia and I were thinking of going into hiding ourselves, Dumbledore," said Sirius, "I mean, with a baby coming and all, I think we'd want to be as out of the way as we can while we plan a final movement against Voldemort."

          "Remus and I, too," put in Kalli, "this baby's only a month away... we'd do anything to keep her... or him safe."  Dumbledore chewed on the end of his quill with a worried frown.

          "Sirius," he started, very softly, "You're aware of the extreme danger of taking this position.  You'd be Voldemort's next target.  He could torture you in horrible ways to get this information.  He could torture you until you believed you were worse than dead."

          "Dumbledore..." Sirius leaned towards Dumbledore's seat very slowly, and spoke with a seriousness none of them had ever known he possessed, looking deep into Dumbledore's eyes.  "I would die that way a thousand times before I betrayed them."  For all the times his friends had seen him kidding around, they all knew that this wasn't one of them.

          Dumbledore sat back in his chair.  "Well, I guess that's settled then," he said, looking at Sirius with respect.

*

          Everyone's nerves were still on edge a month later, but that didn't stop Kalli's friends from throwing her a baby shower in mid-June.  Present along with Damia and Lily were Emma Weasley and her boyfriend Sean Wood, along with some other of their old school friends.  Kalli's mother and aunts also came with some of her and Remus's older cousins.  The women all got together at Lily's house while the boys went off to the cinema to see a Muggle movie and have drinks later at the pub in Godric's Hollow.  

          No sooner had Kalli finished unwrapping her gifts, when she felt the labor pains begin.  Half the guests raced off to the pub to recruit Remus and the boys, while the other half acted as busy as they could helping Kalli into someone's car, since Apparation, Floo, and other modes of wizard transportation weren't a safe way to travel, according to Kalli's mother.  She went with her in the car, along with Lily, Damia, and one of Kalli's many aunts, who drove.  Kalli had just been put in her room at the hospital when Remus, Peter, James, and Sirius came running in, pale and out of breath.  Remus went right over to the bed and held her hands in his, while the others quietly left them alone for a moment.

          Thirty hours later, at 1 a.m. of the eighteenth of June, Remus and Kalli were blessed with a beautiful baby girl.  None of them had slept since Kalli had been admitted, so it was with red, but shining eyes that Remus came out of the delivery room to show his tiny daughter to his best friends.  

          "What did you and Kalli decide on for a name, Moony?" Sirius whispered as he gazed on the baby's sleeping face.

          "Alaina," Remus whispered back, not taking his eyes off his daughter for a second, "Allie for short.  Allie Lupin."

          After a while when Kalli was ready for them to come in they did so, very quietly.  Even Harry was asleep in Lily's front pack.  Kalli's mother had gone to call her father, who was stranded at an airport in Italy on business, so Remus and Kalli were the only ones in the room.  Kalli had never been so happy (or exhausted) in her entire life.  Remus sat by her side and Allie slept on in her arms.  As their friends sidled in quietly they both beamed up at them.  Everyone seemed too awed for words, until Sirius remarked:

          "She's one sleepy baby.  She's already slept for nine months in a nice, squishy waterbed, and she wastes no time now that she's out!"

          "You should hope that she's a heavy sleeper later on," said Lily, "You'll thank God for every full night of sleep you get.  I don't think I've slept more than four hours a night since Harry came along."

          "She's absolutely beautiful," said Damia, "I hope our baby turns out as perfect as her."

          "So, how does it feel being a father, Moony?" questioned Sirius, going to Remus and thumping him on the shoulder.  Remus shook his head bewilderedly.

          "It's... I'm... I'm just speechless... I don't think it's really hit me yet,"

          "It's already hit me hard, sweetheart," said Kalli, "It's a relief not to be pregnant anymore... of course, now comes the rest of our lives. But I can hardly wait."

          "Yeah, the feedings, the changings, the burpings at 2 am, the crying and screaming, and then the schooling, the discipline, the complaining, the whining, the illnesses, the arguments... and that's all before they'll turn ten!" said James.

          "Yeah, but a child is the greatest gift you can ever hope for," said Lily, "There are no words to explain how happy it makes you... and Allie is going to love you immensely.  Look, she already does..." Allie had woken up and was gurgling for some supper.  A nurse shooed them all out, and they agreed to visit again in the morning.

*

          A month and a half later was Harry's first birthday, so a party was thrown at the Potter house for him.  The Marauders (except for Peter, once again) and their wives and children were all there, along with Harry's grandparents.  It was a lovely party, but things unfortunately took a ghastly turn soon after.

          The Potters were just getting ready for bed when there came a loud knock from the front door.  Startled by a visitor this late at night, and frightened that it might be someone unpleasant, they crept to the window where they could see the front door directly below them.  A Muggle police officer stood there.  Still worried that it might be a trap, James got up and grabbed his wand, hiding it in his pajama sleeve as he went to answer the door, while Lily went to check on Harry.  When James opened the door he saw the officer standing there waiting, looking very grave.

          "Are you Mr. James Potter?" he asked.

          "Yes... yes I am... what can I do for you?"

          "Is your wife Lily here?"

          "Yes, she is... is there a problem?"

          "I'm afraid there is... ah, Mrs. Lily Potter?" he asked, as Lily came to the door to stand beside James.

          "Yes... what's going on?"

          "Well, my name is Officer Bob Jameson... and I'm afraid that there's been an accident."  Lily paled slightly.

          "An accident?  With... with who?" Jameson looked at a paper he was holding.

          "Your mother and father are William and Rose Evans?"  Lily nodded.  "Well... I'm sorry I have to be the one to tell you this, but... earlier this evening they were apparently on their way home when... a drunk driver came and ran them off the road." Lily's eyes immediately began to fill.

          "Were... they're okay though, right?" She clung to James's arm.  Jameson looked at the floor and said quietly:

          "I'm afraid not."

          Lily's face twisted in grief, and James hugged her close.

          At five o'clock in the morning of August first, William and Rose Evans were officially pronounced dead.  Lily and James had gone to the hospital where they had been taken, and had been there all night.  Lily's mother and father had been in comas, though they looked otherwise unhurt.  In fact, there was practically nothing wrong with them except for the fact that their brain activity and heart rate were very low, and they were deeply, deeply asleep.  Early in the morning, everything had just stopped functioning and they passed away peacefully, but without a chance to say a final goodbye to either of their daughters or the rest of their families.

          The situation of the crash, however, was fairly confusing.  The Evans's car had been run off the road and had tipped on its side before falling down right side up.  It had some large dents and scratches, but was otherwise apparently undamaged.  It wasn't likely that the crash alone could have caused them to go into a coma, but they had nonetheless, with no other mark on them.  The car that had hit them, however, had apparently been being driven by a drunk driver and had suffered much more damage than the Evans's.  But when the police rushed to the scene, the driver was nowhere to be found.  He had seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth.  The car he had been using was unregistered, with no records of an owner.  A search was sent out, with no results.

          Later that day the Potters received even worse news, this time from the wizard community.  James's mother was found dead at home.  No marks were found on her, but the Dark Mark was hovering over house when officials arrived.  

          This was obviously the most devastating thing that had ever happened to the Potters, or anyone they knew.  The funerals were within a week of each other, and everyone seemed to be in a sort of daze during that time.  Indeed, neither James nor Lily remembered much from the few months following the deaths of their parents, and almost nothing from the first few weeks.  The death of Lily's parents could have been coincidence, though the disappearing driver was reason enough to believe it wasn't, but James's mother had obviously been killed by Death Eaters.  Someone had hinted to Voldemort about the Potter's parents, thinking they could give information, though their children hadn't told them anything about it, to keep them safe.  Obviously, it hadn't worked, but that meant that they had been killed for no reason at all.  

          The next few months passed with dreadful slowness and stupor, although Kalli and Remus definitely had their hands full with Allie, and James and Lily had Harry and each other to keep them from sinking into too deep of despair.  In the beginning of October things were starting to return to normal, until they received word from Dumbledore that the Fidelius Charm was ready to be cast.  

          Despite Sirius's outward assurance that everything was going to be all right, all of them had an inward fear that they would never see each other again.  Once the spell was cast, none of them could have any contact with the Potters, except for Sirius, since he was going to be the Secret Keeper.  The spell would work on them too; they would be just as clueless as Voldemort as to where they were hiding.  The night before the spell was cast, everyone went to see the Potters for possibly one last time.  

          "Just sit tight for a while, we'll have everything taken care of," said Damia, giving Lily a long hug.  It was pointless to try to hide their tears, so pretty much everyone's eyes were very watery.  Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter put all joking aside and hugged each other tightly.

          "Be careful... now that he won't find us, Voldemort will be after you guys.  Please, be very careful," said James, showing a rare seriousness, "I'd sleep better knowing that you went into hiding too."

          "That's what we'll be working on now, along with finding the means to beat Voldemort," said Sirius, "We'll be talking with Dumbledore a lot.  At least you can relax for now."  Lily shook her head, smiling sadly.

          "We won't be able to relax until this is all over.  At least a big step will be out of the way tomorrow."

          Not wanting to say goodbye so quickly, they all went inside.  Lily wanted a picture taken of everyone on the couch, and then of just Kalli, Damia, and herself with Harry and Allie.  Damia sat in the middle with her hands on her growing belly, and Kalli and Lily sat on either side of her with Allie and Harry on their laps.  They all tried to smile, but their sadness shone through their eyes.

          When it was time for everyone to go, every person there hugged Lily and James and kissed little Harry on the cheek.  As Kalli hugged Lily, they both burst into tears, which made everyone there start to cry.  Everyone finally had to leave, though, so they agreed to send letters to each other every day through Sirius.  This made everyone feel a little better, so they finally left with a little hope.  

          No one noticed as James, Sirius, and Peter exchanged a look and winked at each other.


	14. The Worst Things in Life

These next few chapters are going to be the most depressing parts of the story, but they have to be told sigh.  I'm going to England and Scotland for two weeks starting Monday, June 23 (today is Friday, June 20) and I'll be gone for two weeks.  (YIPEEEEEEE!)  And the best part is that I'll get to bring BOOK 5 with me!  I'M SO HAPPY!  So don't get too brought down by the chappie.  I guarantee it's going to get much happier.

*

          As if things weren't going to be complicated enough, Remus was going to be transforming right in the midst of the Fidelius Charm going underway.  His date was, in all irony, Halloween.  Since neither James, Sirius, nor Peter were going to be able to keep him company, he went to his parents' house the day before Halloween, where there were special constraints left from when he had been a child, before he had gone to Hogwarts.  Kalli and Allie would be able to stay home safe.  

          Damia stayed home safe as well, though she was terribly bored.  Sirius was out every night, checking on the Potters and seeing that nothing was amiss.  He rode around on his bike all night, every night, for the next week, coming home at dawn cold, wet, and windblown.  Keeping his promise, he brought letters home every day from James and Lily for everyone.  

_          Dear Damia,                                                                      29 October _

_          Everything is still fine here.  Deathly boring without you, but fine.  Please keep us posted on the progress with the Voldemort thing.  We know you will, but Lily keeps asking me to remind you every five minutes.  The sooner we can see you all   again the better._

_          You missed Harry learn a new word today: BAD.  We were reading Little Red Riding Hood to him tonight and he said it when the woodcutter cut up the wolf.  We're making sure to tell this to Moony and Kalli in their letter._

_          Anyway, be sure to give Sirius something extra-special tonight.  He deserves it._

_          (He threatened to hex me if I didn't put that last part in.)_

_          We love you,_

_          James and Lily_

          With Sirius out every night, Damia was caught at home all alone for the week after the Charm was cast.  She and Kalli (Remus was out patrolling around with Sirius) managed to get together to keep each other company for a while, until October 30 came around and Remus had to go to his parents', who were going to be away for the week.  

          The day before Halloween was full of tension.  It was a cold, overcast day, which didn't help lift the spirits of anyone.  Sirius had been out all night again, and had come home only to grab some toast and juice for breakfast, before running out the door again.  Damia suspected all day that he was out with Peter or the Potters, or maybe with Dumbledore and the Order, planning what to do next.  The day passed with deathly slowness, and too much quiet.  

          That night she went over to Kalli's house, and they talked for a while and played with Allie, to take their minds off the present.  There seemed to be a low-hanging curtain of oppression over them, making them uncertain and very uneasy about everything.  They both had the feeling that something might go very wrong.  Damia spent the night at Kalli's house, not wanting to go back home to no one except ticking clocks that pronounced the silence over and over.  Remus, feeling the beginnings of his transformation (he always felt strange symptoms during the days before and after the full moon) had gone to his parents' already.  Damia went home Halloween morning to find Sirius in a very strange mood.

          When she walked through the door, she found Sirius standing in the middle of the kitchen, staring into space.  He didn't seem to notice that she was there until she spoke his name loudly.  He broke out of his trance and looked at her.

          "Damia..."  She knew something wasn't right; he almost never called her by her full name unless something wasn't right.

          "What?  Sirius, what's wrong?"

          "There's something I need to tell you..."

          "Uh... okay," He sat down at the table and motioned her to do the same.

          "Damia... I'm not supposed to tell you this, but... I'm... I'm not the Secret Keeper."  Damia stared at him.

          "What?  Of course you are!  You've been bringing home letters from James and Lily!"

          "No... He—he's been giving them to me... It's just a trick... no one knows..."

          "Well, if you're not the Secret Keeper, who is?"

          "That's the thing!  I can't tell you!  Nobody can know.  I'm not even supposed to tell you, but I just felt I had to... just whatever happens, you have to believe that it's not me."

          "Ahhh... okay..." said Damia, not really knowing what to make of him at the moment, "I believe you, Sirius.  It's not you."

*

          That evening, no one felt right.  That same cloud of oppression seemed to be hanging over everyone, even the babies, who were crankier than usual.  The stale, cold air gave away the illusion of fun as the children paraded down the streets in their costumes.  The air seemed stuffy and suffocating to breathe, even though Damia had cast a ventilation spell on her windows.  She sat at home alone; Sirius had gone out again on his bike.  Now that she knew he wasn't the Secret Keeper, she didn't know what he could be doing.  She knew she should be researching something on powerful Defense and Attack spells for the fight against Voldemort, now that she couldn't participate in Order doings anymore, but she just couldn't seem to concentrate on her notes, and kept reading the same page over and over.  Finally, she gave up and paced around her small house, absently brushing her hands over her belly.

          She sat down on the couch in the living room and stared into space for who knew how long.  Suddenly, around one o'clock in the morning (she had given up hope on ever getting to sleep), she sat up straight and stared into the darkness out her window.  Something was not right.

          She had never been a Seer, but she was positive that something had gone wrong.  Sirius still hadn't come back, Remus was now a werewolf in his parents' basement, Peter was in his hiding place at the other end of Godric's Hollow, and Kalli was probably fast asleep.  But the Potters... something was wrong over there.  Breathing unsteadily, she ran to the front door, grabbed her blue cloak, and went off into the rainy night.

          Being six months pregnant, she knew it wasn't a good idea to travel by Floo or Apparation, and the Potters' house being only a mile away, she set off running—

          —Oh no!  _That's_ what was wrong!  She knew where the Potter's house was!  The Fidelius Charm had been broken!  Feeling the worst sense of dread come over her, she hurried as quickly as she could along the dark, wet streets.

          When she reached the Potters' house, her worst fears were confirmed.  It wasn't there.  In its place was a pile of rubble.  That large, sturdy, brick house where she had spent so many happy times with her friends was now a pile of rubbish.  Feeling like everything was so unreal, she walked mechanically towards the rubble.

          She found Sirius in the middle of the pile, where the front hall used to be.  James and Lily were in his arms.  They were dead.

*

          The werewolf was afraid.  It was in a closed, damp, dark space, with no one to bite, and nothing to escape the pain.  Its other animal friends weren't there.  The rusted, thick chains were digging into its limbs, making it even madder.  It had to get out.  Looking around it saw steps leading out to a door in the corner.  There.  There was its release.  It strained against the manacles, the metal digging even deeper into its flesh.  Howling desperately, it finally broke free of the rusted metal, and crashed through the wooden door out into the night.

*

          James had been lying half underneath a door, his skin covered with plaster, his hair gray with dust.  His black-rimmed glasses were nowhere to be found.  His eyes were closed, and his wand was still gripped tightly in his hand, glowing with an unused protection spell.  Defending his family until the last moment.

          Lily was next to him, although Sirius must have found her in another part of the house, since there wasn't any plaster on her.  Unable to cry, Damia thought of how Sirius must have moved her here so she could be with James.  Not saying a word, she knelt down beside Sirius, who was burying his face in James's shirt and talking to himself incoherently.  Damia embraced Lily's body and hugged her best friend tightly, crying into her hair.  Neither of them were able to say a word, except for Sirius's mutters of what sounded like: "Oh God, oh God, oh my God," over and over again.  Finally, though, Sirius looked up.

          "Damia?" he said, his voice very hoarse.  "Harry's alive.  He survived."

          Damia looked at him, not daring to believe it.  She was dreading so much to ask where Harry was—if Sirius hadn't found him yet...

          "What?  W-where...?" 

          "H-Hagrid was here w-when I came.  He had found him with L-Lily—" His voice cracked. "—He was s-screaming so loud it wasn't hard to find him.  H-he had a... a cut... a cut on his forehead!  It was bleeding and—oh God!"  He broke off, unable to go on.

          "Where did he take him?  Why didn't you take him?" Sirius didn't seem to hear the accusation in her voice.

          "He took him to the Dursleys... L-Lily's sister.  S-said he had to go to a relative... I gave him James's glasses... and my bike."

          "You _gave Hagrid your bike?"_

          "I'm not going to need it," Sirius said, and his tone changed from hopeless to angry very suddenly, "I'm going to find that bastard and I'll... I'll hurt him as bad as he hurt us... and them," he said, looking down at his best friends.  James and Lily were lying next to each other, their eyes closed in what could have been a peaceful sleep.  Too peaceful.

          Suddenly, Sirius stood up.  He wasn't crying—he seemed beyond tears—but his eyes were a strange color red, and he looked as pale as a sheet; his hands shaking violently.  He looked down at his wife, who was now holding James and Lily in her arms.

          "I have to go—" he said, "I'm going to find him." His voice seemed full of a rage she had never before known he possessed.  He stood up.

          "Go?  Go where?  Sirius!" Damia called as he began to walk away.  She stood up and left James and Lily behind as she stumbled to catch up with Sirius in the front yard.  "Sirius, what's going on?  Who... who did this?  Why... anyone?"  Her mind was too jumbled to look at everything that had happened.  All she knew that her two best friends were dead, and that Sirius knew who had done it.  But he wasn't telling.  He stopped and turned around to her, his hair dripping from the rain.

          "Dame, I'm going to kill him.  Don't try and stop me, I know what I'm doing.  I'll tell you all the details later, but right now I have to catch him.  Just... could you take care of the... of them?" he asked, not wanting to accept that James and Lily had left their bodies, but glancing at where they still lay, "Please?  I'll be back..."  And before Damia could say another word to stop him, he had kissed her quickly on the lips, and then, he knelt down and kissed her belly where his growing child slept, oblivious to all.  Giving her one last glance which she could not read, he transformed into a dog and raced away into the night. 

          The next few hours passed in a haze of disbelief for Damia.  She didn't remember much except that she hadn't let go of James and Lily until the officials arrived and had to separate her from them.  No one asked her many questions, partly since she wasn't able to answer them, and partly because Aurors had turned up, distracting the officials from Damia.  The bodies were removed from the scene by the morgue people, but more and more people kept turning up, some from the press, some from the Ministry, and some just to see what was going on.  Damia, after a while, somehow got away from everyone, and started back home.  There was nothing else she could do.

*

          The werewolf ran down the streets, encountering no sign of life.  This was terrible, this emptiness.  _Where is my prey? its instincts cried.  It ran through the forest, encountering nothing except small rodents and birds, which it devoured quickly.  Eventually, it came upon another street, where a lone house stood.  This small cottage seemed very familiar in some way, but the wolf didn't stop to ponder.  It ran as quickly as it could through the remaining trees and approached the house, which reeked of human life._

          Kalli, unable to sleep, had been walking Allie through the house, singing softly to calm both her and the baby's nerves.  The rain outside was making a peaceful pitter-patter on the tin rooftop.  Suddenly, though, another noise howled through the night.  Kalli stopped singing, leaning forward a little to try to listen again.  There it was again, the howl of a werewolf.  Tingling with horror, she rushed to the window to see how close it was.  She felt the bottom drop out of her stomach when she saw it across the street, the huge figure that was usually her husband bolting closer and closer.  

          She quickly turned away from the window, startling Allie, thinking where she could hide.  There was no basement to the house, so the first floor would probably be the safest, since she didn't want to get cornered upstairs.  She bolted to the downstairs bedroom, laid Allie on her bed, locked the door, and started jamming it with everything she could find.  She braced some chairs in front of the door, and then shoved the bed against them.  By this time, the werewolf had burst through the front door and she could hear it in the house, knocking things over in the kitchen and tearing up the carpet as it ran down the halls.  Kalli ran to the window and shoved it open, for a quick escape in case the wolf did make it in.  She didn't want to run outside unless she had to, since she had nowhere she could go.  She couldn't Apparate anywhere without Allie, and there was no way in heaven or hell that she would leave her baby alone.  She gasped when she heard the werewolf slam against the door.  The lock creaked.

*

          On and on and on and on, Sirius ran.  He had no idea where he was going, but he kept Apparating to every possible place he thought the slimy rat might go.  He knew what people would think of him now.  Those who had known about the Fidelius Charm would swear before the Ministry that Sirius had been the Secret Keeper.  Nothing but the strongest Veritiserum would be able to prove him innocent.  

          That wasn't on his mind at the moment, however.  The only thing he was thinking of now was that his two best friends were dead, his godson was now an orphan, and that Peter Pettigrew had sold out everyone.

          Dawn was coming.

*

          Damia was woken by the light of the cold November morning, sprawled on the couch in her living room.  She had passed out when she had gotten home, from the shock, the horror, and the unimaginable despair from what had happened in the last few hours.  Feeling rather stupid, she decided to see if there was anything she could do.  She couldn't stay here alone and do nothing; she felt like she would scream.  She decided to go to Kalli's house and see how she was doing.  

          She hurried as quickly as she could the two miles to the Lupins' house, without making herself or the baby sick.  She felt a wave of horror pass over her when she reached the front porch.

          The front door was smashed in.  The strong oak had been reduced to splinters.  Feeling like she was going to be sick, she snuck inside, through the hole that had been made.  The interior of the house was a mess.  Pots and glasses had been smashed in the kitchen, the carpet of the hall was ripped to shreds, and... oh God... the door to the bedroom was in the same state as the front door.  Dreading horribly what she might find, she crept to the door, looked inside, and saw...

          Nothing.  No humans, anyway.  The inside of the room was ripped to shreds, the window was busted through, but all signs of life were gone.  Not knowing whether she should feel relief or deeper fear, she called Kalli's and Remus's names, with no answer.  She went outside and walked back home, not really knowing what else to do.  Sirius still wasn't there when she got home, and by this time it was eight in the morning.  Feeling helpless, she went outside again, just to get some air.  She stopped when she saw the _Morning Prophet_ on the doorstep.  She picked it up, trying to see if she could find out anything that had been going on.  The front page blared:  **_DARK LORD DEFEATED!  _**And was followed by a long story that told of what had happened.  Damia stared blankly at the paper.  _Harry did this?  Harry... a little baby?  He destroyed Voldemort?  Sirius hadn't told her that.  He hadn't even mentioned Voldemort, only that Harry was alive.  But speaking of Sirius..._

          **_SIRIUS BLACK SENT TO AZKABAN—for murder of 12 Muggles and wizard Peter Pettigrew_**

          Damia didn't even read the story.  The paper fell from her hand.  She fell to her knees, so numb that she didn't feel the pain, and vomited.

          Then everything went black.


	15. Picking up the Pieces

          Damia awoke to brightness shining through her eyelids, but she didn't open them.  She was hoping against hope that it had all been a dream; that Lily and James and Harry were alive and well hidden, that Sirius would be coming home soon, and that she was now lying in her own, warm bed.  She was considering just going back to sleep until she heard something make a loud "thump" noise.  Hoping it was just one of the cats, she mumbled something about waiting a few minutes for breakfast.  But she heard it again, and this time a few muffled voices accompanied it.  She finally dared to open her eyes.  

          She found herself in a large room with a high ceiling and smooth walls painted light blue.  Her bed was in a corner, but she could see at least five others in rows across the room.  A few people were walking around, tending to people lying in some of the beds.  The people standing were wearing lime green robes, which led Damia to the conclusion that she was in St. Mungo's.  Hearing the thumping noise again, she looked toward the door at the end of the room.  She could hear people saying things outside, and even saw the flash of a camera through the frosted glass window.  At this, one of the Healers gave a huff of impatience, opened the door a crack, and hissed:

          "Will you _leave, please?  Mrs. Black is not available for __any comments!"  This didn't seem to do any good, however, because after she'd slammed the door in their faces, they put up protests and tried to ask even more questions. The Healer muttered to another as she walked away: "If they don't give it a rest, we're going to have to call the Head up here."  The other Healer nodded and went to check on the person lying in the bed next to Damia's.       Damia, however, resisted the urge to throw up again.  For she had just remembered everything that had happened in the recent past, and she had realized that it was all true.  Her two best friends dead and her husband an accused murderer and sent straight to Azkaban without a trial.  _

          Her thoughts were interrupted by the Healer touching her softly on the arm.  She was an older woman, with a kind, motherly face.  

          "Well, look who's finally awake.  We were worried about you, dearie.  And your little one," She glanced at Damia's belly.  "You're mother was here earlier, and she'll be delighted to know that you're awake."  She stopped and looked around with a little benign smile, until another thought crossed her mind.  "It's just horrible what's happened to you, though.  I know you couldn't have known, the way you reacted—"

          "Known what?" Damia interrupted quietly.  The Healer looked a little uncomfortable.

          "I mean, about your husband and all... what could drive a man to do such things..." She broke off, now looking fairly uncomfortable.  Damia, feeling distinctly sick, then asked the question which had been in the back of her mind ever since she had woken up.

          "How'd I get here?"

          The Healer looked a little relieved to change the subject.  "Well, it's rather lucky, considering the circumstances... Your neighbors saw you black out, and ran to your doorstep not ten seconds after you fell.  One of them had the sense to summon a Healer who could bring a potion to bring you here safely, as you're expecting and all, but as soon as you arrived you went into shock while still unconscious."  She stopped to catch her breath for half a second before going on.  "You've been here for a day and a half already.  We were worried that that bump on your head might've led to something worse."  Damia gingerly felt a sore lump on the side of her head, the dull pain just becoming noticeable now.  She tried to speak, but found her throat very dry, and so wet her lips and tried again.

          "I want... I _need... I need to talk to him..." she began hoarsely, "I need to know what happened... what's really going on..."  The Healer guessed who it was she meant instantly._

          "I don't think that would be a very good idea, dear," she began, "It wouldn't be good for you to see him as he really is."

          "As he really... what?  No, no!  He didn't do those things!  He didn't, he told me!  It was someone else!  He loves me, he wouldn't..."  But she broke off at the expression of the deepest pity on the Healer's face.  Damia's eyes opened wide as she shook her head, with a faint smile of disbelief that even surprised her.  "Sirius loves me," she explained simply, as if trying to make a misunderstanding child see the truth, "He loves me.  He loves our baby.  He loves our friends—" She suddenly broke off at the mention of James and Lily, but went on in a shaking voice.  "He would never have done any of those things.  It was someone else."

          "But who, dear, who?  I'm sorry—" the Healer said as soon as she had spoken, "It's not my place to try to explain things that can't be explained.  I'm... I'm just sorry."

          And she walked away without another word.

          Damia, in her state of disbelief and shock, would have tried to get up and walk away from St. Mungo's without any thought of those who might try to stop her.  She probably would have found her way to Azkaban if she could.  But she soon found out that someone there had given her a muscle-relaxing potion that restricted her from moving her limbs.  Her legs and arms felt like dead weight, and she found that she didn't even have the energy to shout to someone.  She instead collapsed on her pillows and fell into a drug-induced sleep.

          A while later—it could have been a day or two for all Damia knew—the Healer who had spoken to her before told her that she would have a visitor.  

          "Someone from the Ministry, dear, so try to be smart and awake.  Do you feel up to walking?  Just a short walk down the hall would do you surprisingly well."  Damia felt too tired to complain.  The potion had worn off but she still felt sluggish and apathetic.  In the back of her clouded mind she thought that considering the circumstances, she would be absolutely livid if she were normal.  But, grumbling silently to herself as she pushed herself off the bed, there would be plenty of time for that later.  She would be out of here soon and free to find Remus and Kalli, free to fight for Sirius's freedom, free to rescue Harry from his relatives, and free to mourn James and Lily in peace.

          She allowed the Healer to help her stand and walk down the room.

          Later that afternoon she was sitting up in bed, writing a letter to Sirius in her mind, since she didn't have a quill or parchment.  She had already made a list of people to write letters to – Cornelius Fudge and Bartemius Crouch at the top of the Angry Letter List.  They were the ones most responsible for sending Sirius away without giving her the chance to talk to him.  It appeared to her that Sirius was already in Azkaban, and there had been no word on there being a trial for him in the near future.  They had just believed their eyes and that was that.  But speak of the devil...

          Cornelius Fudge was coming towards her down the length of the room, accompanied by two official-looking officials.  As soon as he caught sight of her and saw that she was awake, he greeted her in a disgustingly cheerful way.  

          "Ahh, Mrs. Black!  How are you feeling?"

          Damia just stared at him, not believing her ears.  Fudge went on, ignoring her silence. 

          "Well, well, glad to see you're awake and in one piece.  Now, there's not much time for banter, we have things to discuss."  He was practically bouncing on his heels for joy.  Damia could guess why.  "Now that You-Know-Who is gone, we have some little things to clear up.  I suppose you're happy to know that Mr. Black is now in Azkaban for life."  His happy grin disappeared for a moment. "It is tragic, though, what he did.  I can't imagine how happy you must be now that you're rid of him and his falsity.  What you must have gone through..."

          Damia was completely struck dumb.  While Fudge's speech drifted off, she summoned the wits to ask in a low voice: "He won't have a trial, then,"

          "Oh no, no, we don't see any real need for that.  Barty Crouch thinks that there's enough eyewitnesses that he won't need one.  Too many people - questioned with Veritiserum, mind – swear that what they saw with their very eyes is true.  Now, unless some substantial evidence comes forth saying otherwise... Your husband will be in Azkaban for the rest of his life.  Which probably won't be for very long..."

          Damia stood up.  A rage which she had never felt before burned through her, making her vision sway and her eyes water.  She could not believe that this imbecile of a human being could have gotten every word he said so horribly, hideously wrong.  Her hands clenched into fists, her muscles tightened, and no thought cursed through her brain except the urge to drive some sense into this terribly dim-witted man.

          She didn't know what exactly she was thinking, driving her fist into a Junior Minister's face, but the next thing she knew she was being held back by the two officials, with numb and stinging knuckles on her left hand.  Fudge looked at her through his broken, bloody nose, an expression of incredulity covering his face.  He looked too shocked to react to her assault, as did the two officials, so Damia twisted free and grabbed the first thing she could reach – a water glass on her bedside table.  She threw it as hard as she could, but in her rage, it fell short of Fudge and shattered on the floor.  She then grabbed a bread roll and threw it, all the time screaming incomprehensive foul language at the top of her lungs.  She didn't get the chance to throw much else, because at that time, three or four Healers showed up and forced her down on the bed, at the same time forcing a sedative potion down her throat.  She felt her rage and her consciousness drift away as soon as she swallowed it.

          When she finally awoke, she was not in the large room she had been placed in when she had arrived.  She was in a small, square room with no windows and dull gray paint on the walls.  Her new bed was small and lumpy, and the only other furnishings were a dressing table and a musty-looking armchair.  _Oh shit.  _Damia thought to herself as she remembered what had happened.  _I'm in deep trouble now… what if they send me to Azkaban?  Although… if I were there, I could finally talk to Sirius, couldn't I?  No, they couldn't send a pregnant woman there.  But I need to talk to Sirius.  I need to ask him what's going on, who the Secret Keeper was, and who killed all those people, because it certainly wasn't him.  I need to get him out of there, because from what I've heard, it's impossible to get out yourself—"_

          Her thoughts were interrupted by the door of her room slamming open.  She quickly sat up and saw three people enter whom she'd never met.  One was rather short and squat, and looked very similar to Fudge, but wasn't.  The other two wouldn't have looked out of place in a Muggle boxing ring.  She glanced quickly at an emblem on their robes, with the letters H and W entwined together.  Hit Wizards.  _Oh shit, _she thought again.

          "Mrs. Black," the short wizard began, giving her an eerie smile of superiority, "We seem to have ourselves a temper, don't we?"  Damia said nothing.  "An unprovoked assault on a Junior Minister is enough to land a sentence in Azkaban... but considering your condition, that won't be allowed." His expression clearly said that he would gladly put her in Azkaban if the choice was his.  "We decided that your assault could be considered an insult to the Ministry, and if that ever happens when the aggressor is unfit for Azkaban, we move for deportation."  Damia felt the bottom drop out of her stomach.  

          "You mean from the Wizarding world?" she asked.  The wizard glared at her as if he wished it were so.

          "No, just from Great Britain.  The Ministry is in contact with the Muggle government, after all, and together they decided that it would be best for everyone.  The Muggle Prime Minister doesn't want a woman like you in his country, witch or not.  And the Ministry of course does not negotiate with Ministry assaulters.  You will be sent to a relative's house in the United States.  You have an aunt living in Massachusetts?"  Damia nodded silently.  "She has agreed to take you.  We have already spoken to your mother, and she obviously saw that there was no other way.  She said she would be accompanying you.  She's on a Muggle airplane on the way to Boston right now.  Be glad your sentence isn't worse."

          Damia stared at him with heavy-lidded eyes.  She tried to take in everything that had been said, but the information hit a barrier somewhere in her mind.  She wet her dry lips and voiced the only thought that her mind could put together.  

          "I need to talk to my husband.  I have two other friends who disappeared the night of the... of the attack.  I don't know anything about them.  I need to talk to Sirius."  The Ministry official tried not to laugh.

          "That's probably the last thing we'll let you do.  As for your friends, there have been no reports of any disappearances.  They are not your concern anymore, anyway." Damia tried to protest, but the drugs in her body prevented her from making too much of an effort.  The Ministry official went on.  "Therefore, you will be leaving now."  

          "Now?  How?  My stuff is still at home."

          "No," he said, "it's not."  And he took out of his pocket a small box.  As he handed it to Damia, she saw that it had a lid that opened at the top.  When she opened it she couldn't make out anything at first, but then she saw something that looked suspiciously like a tiny bed that might belong in an unusually small doll house.  There were also some other furniture, along with tiny boxes of tiny objects.  It didn't take long for Damia to realize that this was everything that had been in her and Sirius's house – shrunk down to fit inside a box the size of her hand.  Her cats and owl were even tiny; the cats were curled up on the bed, and her owl was in her cage on the kitchen table.  

          Damia nodded, not knowing any other way out.  She would go to Massachusetts, learn her rights that would let her see Sirius, and contact Remus and Kalli from there.  Her heart ached when she realized that she had probably already missed James and Lily's funeral.  With them dead, Sirius gone, and Remus and Kalli missing, there was nothing left for her here.  She nodded again helplessly, feeling like her life was over at the ripe old age of twenty.  It wasn't until her hand brushed her belly that she realized that she still had something to live for.  She pressed both hands to it, feeling the tiny child inside.  A strange, overwhelming sense of love and sorrow came over her then, and her vision blurred as a Healer handed her a potion that would let her Apparate across the Atlantic in safety.  

          She arrived at her aunt's house a few hours before her mother's plane was to land in Boston.  Her mother's sister Jemima was there waiting for her, and she welcomed her with teary graciousness.  Damia had visited here once before when she was very young, and all she could really remember was how large the house was.  It had once been a multi-generational farmhouse that her mother's family had lived in.  Her grandfather on her mother's side had been born here, and her aunt Jemima had lived here ever since she had graduated from Hogwarts.  Ever since her husband had died ten years ago, the house had been empty except for her.  Damia's mother was not a witch, but her sister and mother were, so she had known all about Hogwarts when she had met her husband, Damia's father, who was a wizard.

          When Damia's mother arrived in a taxi from the airport, the three talked about what had happened over a pot of strong coffee.  Damia was silent most of the time, her hand resting on her belly while she silently sipped her tea.  While her mum and aunt talked about what could be done next, Damia tuned them out, thinking about what would happen if she had her baby before she could talk to Sirius.  

          When she and Sirius had talked about the baby, he could hardly conceal his excitement and joy at the fact that he would be a father.  He had patted Damia's tummy every chance he got, and even talked to it sometimes.  "Kid, when you come out of there, you are going to be so spoiled by your daddy," he would say.  He didn't care if it was a boy or a girl, just as long as he and Damia were there to share the joy together.

          Without a word, Damia left the table, climbed the flight of stairs to her room on the second floor, and collapsed on her bed.  The sedative drugs now gone from her body, her mind was free to comprehend the whole of what happened in the last few days.  As the truth of everything set in, her box of shrunken possessions fell from her hand as sobs racked her body.  The cats, surprised by the fall, streaked out of the box and returned to full size.  The female jumped onto Damia's bed and curled up next to her arm, as the male climbed on top of the bump on her abdomen and fell asleep draped over it.  Damia continued to sob as the cats purred next to her.

          As the month of November passed, Damia spent her time writing to Sirius and researching any rules that would let her visit him.  She had no proof that he had been wrongly accused, but the feeling she had that he was stayed with her, growing stronger every day as she kept telling herself how Sirius was sincere in his love for her.  One thing that made her especially angry was how none of her letters ever arrived at their destination.  Every one she sent to Sirius had returned by the following day unopened, and every one she had sent to the Ministry of Magic declaring her rights were sent back with the words "REFUSED" stamped on the envelope in bold red letters.  The Ministry did send her one letter, however – telling her the rules she must follow to avoid any more trouble: No traveling to Great Britain by Apparation, Floo, Portkey, or broom.  No contacting anyone there.  No letters sent would be accepted.  And she would be kept under watch by the American Department of Magic for the rest of her life.

          Sirius's twenty-first birthday passed at the end of November.  Damia, not giving up, sent him a card along with her letter, thinking that a cake wouldn't last over the Atlantic Ocean.  It was also sent back.

          December came and Christmas approached, though it came without any joy for Damia.  December 21 was her and Sirius's third marriage anniversary, and she spent the day in bed, staring into space.  A few days later, though, were spent with anything but lethargy.  

          Damia had been washing dishes (anything to keep her mind busy) when she felt a strange sensation in her lower abdomen.  She dismissed it, having felt it lately, though not as strongly.  She figured it was just a normal part of the pregnancy.  A few minutes later, though, her water broke – removing all doubt that the time had come, though a month early.  She had gone into labor.  Her mother and aunt drove her to the nearest wizarding maternity hospital – not so much different from a Muggle hospital except that potions were used to help with the pain, instead of gigantic needles being driven into the mother's spine.  Nevertheless, it was the most acute physical pain Damia had ever gone through.  

          She wished so much that Sirius could have been there to see the birth of his child.  She had the strangest mix of feelings – joy, sorrow, pain, even anger.  Sirius should have been allowed to see his newborn child.  She should have been allowed to at least _talk to him, at least once.  Sirius had never been given a chance to defend himself, and everything had obviously been a huge mistake.  Since Sirius obviously wasn't going to be able to be present at the baby's birth, Damia had memorized a letter to send to the Ministry of Magic, not that she expected them to accept it.  She even thought of appealing to the Department of Magic to allow this one letter to reach her husband, telling him that his baby had been born._

          The doctors persuaded her to walk a little down the corridor before the contractions became too severe.  Babies were often born a month premature, and this one obviously thought it was its time right now.  After a few hours, she was put in a bed and prepared to wait out the rest of the night and morning.  Her mother and aunt were there to keep her company, but she wished so much that Sirius was there that some of her tears weren't due to the labor pains.  

          As the contractions grew closer together and more painful, she was moved into the delivery room, where she at last gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, in the afternoon of Christmas Eve.  It was the happiest and saddest moment of her life – happy because she was a new mother of a beautiful, healthy baby, and sad because Sirius wasn't there to see his newborn daughter.  He was still in prison, oblivious to anything and everything in the outside world, including his wife's tears of joy and sorrow, and his daughter's eyes that looked exactly like his own.

          Damia was exhausted by Christmas morning, but she couldn't sleep when they told her to.  Her baby had been moved to an incubator in another room, and her mum and aunt – having been awake for nearly thirty-six hours – were dozing in a suite down the hall, and now Damia was left to think things to herself.  Her body felt absolutely exhausted and strangely empty, but her mind couldn't have been more the opposite.  She was thinking how ecstatic Sirius would be when he found out his daughter was born.  She would make sure he found out.  She was still convinced that there had been a huge mistake, and that someone else had murdered Peter and the twelve Muggles.  He had said himself that he wasn't the Secret Keeper even before James and Lily had been murdered.

          Secondly, she needed to think of a name.  One that Sirius would love.  They hadn't had much time to discuss it, since the baby was supposed to be due in January, and they had thought that they would have a lot more time.  Damia thought up a list in her head, but none of the names seemed right.  Suddenly, she had a vivid memory of Sirius talking about his mother – the only member of his family he had ever cared about.  She wondered why she couldn't remember her name... then it came to her that Sirius had always referred to her as "Mum".  After racking her brains for a while, she vaguely remembered reading an article in the _Daily Prophet_ in her second year about when she had died.  It was probably one of Sirius's worst times at Hogwarts, and she recalled how Sirius, though only twelve years old, had been too grieved to cry.  But his mother's name stood out: Holly Black.

          _That's perfect, she thought, __not only is it a beautiful name, but it's entirely appropriate, as she was born on Christmas Eve.  _

          Holly Black.

          Damia finally drifted off to sleep, feeling much happier than she had in a long time.

~*~

          Damia had never been busier in her life.  She was delighted to be a mother, and she loved Holly more than words could describe.  But she was still terribly lonely.  She had always looked forward to having a happy family with Sirius, all the time visiting James, Lily, and Harry, and Remus, Kalli, and Allie.  She hadn't been as close with Peter, but she still missed him too, and felt a wave of grief pass over every time she thought of how he was unjustly murdered.  She wondered who had done it, because she was still convinced it hadn't been Sirius.  She felt much more sadness over James and Lily, whom she still cried about almost every day.  But despite the grief, she felt somehow that they were now peaceful and at rest, which comforted her almost as if they were telling her themselves.

          Damia's mum was a gardener, and she had a new design business going, while Aunt Jemima was a teacher at a nearby wizarding elementary school for young children.  Damia herself had enough money to be able to afford the necessities for a new addition to her family, but she wished so much that she didn't have to be a single mother.  Every free chance she got she wrote to Fudge and the Ministry, and even the Department of Magic.  In one desperate instance, she tried to Apparate back to England, without success.  There seemed to be a barrier in international Apparation, since she could Apparate perfectly fine from the corner of the street to her house.  

          Raising the baby single-handedly was a tough enough job as it was, but Damia began to be aware of the fact that she would soon need a job to help pay the bills.  When she had the time, she would look in the classified ads in the _Druid's Journal_, the local wizarding newspaper, for any openings she was qualified for.  The only thing she had really been trained in was for the Order of the Phoenix, and now that Voldemort was dead, there was no real need for that.  Not that she would have been allowed back anyway, after what had happened.  She did find an opening at the library of the Massachusetts Academy of Magic, the nearest wizarding school.  In the United States, there was a magic school in every state, in buildings much smaller than Hogwarts.  The Massachusetts school was near Salem, but as Apparating wasn't a problem, Damia figured traveling a hundred miles from the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts to Salem at the opposite end of the state every day wasn't much of a problem.  She had always been fascinated by libraries, and had been almost of an apprentice of Madam Pince in her Hogwarts days.  She had quite a few books in her own library, wizard and Muggle.  Jane Austen was her favorite, but J.R.R. Tolkien was a close second.  She sent in a resume to the library, and was accepted as soon as she could be available.  She still missed Sirius terribly, and had yet to successfully send a letter to him, but other than that she felt like she had things planned out for the time being.  That was until she finally received a letter from the Ministry of Magic on New Year's Eve.

          Damia was cleaning up Holly's nursery while the baby slept.  Holly actually had two beds: one in the nursery and one in Damia's room.  She napped in the nursery, but at night Damia took her into her room, wanting to be close to her and almost feeling like Holly was a gift for her from Sirius.  She looked so much like him, and even had his facial expressions, that it comforted her to have her so close.  Damia was cleaning as quietly as she could when her owl Athena hopped through the door, rustling her wings loudly.  Damia tried shushing her with hand motions, but the baby had already woken up.  Damia took the letter Athena had brought with one hand while picking up Holly with the other and bouncing her on her knee on the nearby armchair.  Damia did a double take when she saw where the letter had come from:

_Department of Magical Catastrophes_

_Ministry of Magic_

_London__, __England_

          She ripped open the parchment and read the contents, her eyes quickly scanning the short paragraph.

          _Dear Mrs. Damia Black:_

_          We write to inform you of the unfortunate death of your husband (as it were) Sirius Black as of the twenty-ninth of December of this year.   He was caught attempting to escape the fortress of Azkaban, where he was being held, and was immediately taken down by the prison guards.  Knowing your obvious concern for him, we offer our sincerest condolences.  _

_          Yours in sadness,_

_          Cornelius O. Fudge_

_          Junior Minister of the Department of Magical Catastrophes_

_          Ministry of Magic_

          Damia stared at the parchment wordlessly, as if trying to absorb something more from it than the words she had just read.  Minutes went by without her blinking.  Suddenly the words seemed to hit her full force, and she shook violently as she held Holly closer to her, letting out a wordless scream of denial.

~*~

          At that same moment thousands of miles away, Sirius Black was lying on the floor of his cell.  He didn't know how long he had been there, and frankly, he didn't care if he stayed here forever.  He was stuck in here anyway, and there seemed to be no way he could ever get back to Damia.  He had given up hope that she would ever help him.  Did she believe what she read in the papers?  Or did she trust him and was trying her hardest to get him out?  If she did believe him, she would be the only one who did, and if she didn't, he was doomed anyway.

          At that moment he heard footsteps coming down the hall.  He didn't feel the familiar icy presence the Dementors brought everywhere with them, so he vaguely decided that it must be a person coming.  He lifted his head off the dirty floor to see a man standing outside of his cell.  He didn't recognize him, but the emblem on his impeccable robes told him to be a Ministry member.

          "Mr. Black," the man said, looking visibly uncomfortable, "I've come to tell you something the Ministry's just gotten word of.  Your wife, Damia Black, has been killed.  She was caught with a mob trying to overtake the Ministry, and we had to return violence with violence.  She was killed in the struggle.  We didn't even see that she was pregnant until... afterwards.  Sorry." He finished awkwardly with an expression of genuine guilt.  "I didn't see this myself, mind," he went on, "but I've heard from Cornelius Fudge himself that it happened.  I... sorry," he finished again uncomfortably, and turned away from the cell as quickly as he could, anxious not to spend a moment longer in the place.

          Sirius lay motionless on the floor for what seemed like forever to him.  He couldn't fully comprehend what had just happened at first, but when he did, his stomach emptied of what little there was in it, and he gave a long, loud roar of despair that made prisoners several corridors away cover their ears and screw their eyes closed for a long time.


	16. The Twelve Years

The disjointed inner thoughts of Sirius and Damia Black during the twelve years Sirius is in Azkaban.  I did this because I couldn't figure out a way to transfer smoothly over them.  Just so no one gets too, too confused, every line switches between Sirius and Damia.  You'll figure out which soon enough.  There's a few suicidal themes in here, so watch out.

~~~

Oh good Lord.  My husband is dead.

Oh God.  My wife is dead.  My baby is dead.

Why?  What did he ever do?  Why are you doing this to me?  Why did you do this to him?

Everyone I know is dead.  Everyone I love.  It's my fault.  My fault...

_Why?_

_Why_ did I insist that they switch?  

My best friends are dead.  I don't even know why.

How could he do this?  Our closest friend?  It's my fault, I even insisted...

Oh God—he won't ever see his little girl.

Let me out!  _Let me out!_

He's gone—

I didn't do it!

He's dead—

I'm innocent!

They're dead—

_LET ME OUT!_

What will I do now?

Oh God, they're coming...

She won't ever know her father...

Someone help me, please..._ please!_

Why did it have to be like this?  Why are all my best friends dead?  Who could possibly do this to a human being?

They're coming closer… _let me out!_

That thing wasn't a human being.

For the love of God, let me out!

Not anymore.  No human being could possibly do that.

_FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!_

Why won't anyone believe me?

These things don't have a love of God.

He didn't do it!

I didn't do it!

Leave him alone!

Get away from me!

It wasn't him!

It wasn't me!

I could just end it...

I could just end it...

_No_, I can't!  I need to stay alive...

_No_, I can't!  I need to stay alive...

For our daughter...

To avenge them somehow...

She needs me.

To avenge them all...

I need her too.

Mum?  Mum, is that you?  I can see you!  

I want my mum.  

James?  Lily?  Where are you?  Come back!  NO!  _Don't leave me!_

Mums always make you feel better.

Oh God, they're coming...

What am I going to do now?

Get away from me! 

I'm helpless!  

I didn't do it!  Let me out!

Sirius, why didn't you tell me who it was?

Why didn't I tell her who it was?  

He might be alive if he had told me.

She might be alive if I had told her.

Oh God.

Huh?  My father's dead?  Killed himself?  Huh.  I guess he did care.  I don't.  I _don't._

Lily, James, why did it have to be you?

Lily, James, why couldn't it have been me?  

What did you ever do to hurt anyone?

I would have died before I told...

Why do people even have to die in the first place? 

Is that rat even dead now? 

What good does it do?

It sure looked like it.

I never even knew who the Secret-Keeper was...

What can I do now?

I can't go on like this.

Oh Lord, get them away from me!

Listen to me!  Someone listen!

Oh God, they're here!

He didn't do it!

Get away from me!

Why did you send me away from my home?

_GET AWAY FROM ME!_

Dumbledore, I would never go against you!

_GET AWAY!  _

I thought you, of all people…

_I HAVE NOTHING LEFT!_

You would believe me…

_NOTHING!  I'M EMPTY!_

Why can't I even write to you?

No... _NO_... **_NO_**_!_

There's nothing I can do!

_I'M ALREADY DEAD!_

I'm as good as dead, aren't I!

Damia, I need you!

Sirius, why did you have to go?

Damia, please help me!

Am I being punished?

Where are you?

What did I do?  What did I do wrong?

I deserve to die, but my child didn't.  My wife didn't.

He didn't deserve to die.

I want to see my wife!  

He never got to see our baby

I want to see our baby!

He never got to be a father

I wanted so much to be a father

It wasn't his fault—

It was all my fault—

He needed to see his baby

I wanted to see my child so bad—

His baby needs to know her father

I wanted to be the best father in the world...

He never deserved to lose her...

I'll never be able to now.

None of them deserved what they got...

I deserve to die.

My friends are gone.

What if... what if I just ended it?

Gone...

If I did, would I see them?

But I can't give up now.

No!  I need to find Harry!

I need to stay here for her.

Harry, you need to know the truth!

I can't even see Harry.

Harry thinks I'm a murderer.

That beautiful baby boy...

Harry, I didn't murder them!

James and Lily never should have lost their baby.

I didn't kill your parents!

Harry didn't deserve to lose his parents.  Who ever does?

I could never kill anyone, not even Snape.  Wait... I could kill Peter, but he's already dead... killed himself, that dipshit.

Kalli... Remus... where are you now?

Remus... you think I'm a murderer... you think I'm the one...

Are you even alive?

Remus... what happened to Kalli and Allie?

No... I need to be strong...

James, Lily, I can't believe what I did... I could never be more sorry in a hundred thousand years...

I can't be thinking like this.

Harry... I didn't kill your mum and dad...

Sirius, I'm so sorry I wasn't able to help you.

Harry... you think I'm a killer...

Sirius, I know you didn't do it.

Harry, you hate me but I loved you like you were my own child...

I _know you were innocent._

My own child...

You could never, ever do that to your friends... no matter what people say.

James, you were practically my brother... we _were_ brothers, if not by blood.  We were born on the same day.  Our mothers were roommates in the hospital.  Wasn't _that_ ironic?

Lily, we were like sisters, weren't we?  You were closer to me than a sister could ever be.

Remus, Kalli, you were the greatest friends anyone could have.

Remus, Kalli, I don't even know what happened to you...

It's all my fault.

Do you think I had something to do with it?  With their deaths?

I deserve to die.

_Do you?_

How might I be able to do it...?

How can you think that?

No!  No, I can't!  I need to avenge them somehow!

Lily, James... Sirius, where are you?

Avenge their deaths, and then you can do it...

I can't wake up from this nightmare!

Then you can rest.

Is this just a nightmare?

I need to lose myself right now.

I want to wake up!

Dogs are such simple beings...

My daughter, my sweet baby, where are you?

Even if I escaped, what could I do?

Please don't cry...

How long has it been?

You look so much like him.

Does it matter any more?

He would have loved you.

How old am I now?

He would have loved you so much.

Do I even care?

You needed to know your father.

Oh God, they're coming back...

He needed to know you.

Please, just go away!

Everybody hates him.

Leave me alone!  Don't bother giving me food!  There's no point!

The whole world hates him.

Throw it out the window!  Throw it into the sea!

Leave him alone!

Don't give me food!  I don't deserve to live!

He didn't do it!

No, don't go thinking that way.  You need to stay sane.  Just eat the mushy shit.

It wasn't his fault!

You need to figure out what to do...

What can you do?  Anything?

God, it's cold.

Just be a good mother to you daughter.

I've never been so cold in my whole life.

The best mother you can be.

It's been like this before... is it winter again?  What year is it?

Tell her about her father.

If it's winter, is Harry at Hogwarts?  Is he still too young?

Tell her all the good things.

Did he survive his aunt and uncle's?

Tell her how much she's like him.

Harry, Hagrid, Dumbledore—everyone hates me.

My little baby, you're growing up so fast...

Dumbledore... you hate me...

Your dad would be so proud.

I think I'm becoming unhinged...

He would be so proud of his little girl.

I think I'm finally cracking...

You make me so proud.

Doggy time again.

I love you.

That's a little better.

More than anything.

Sleep.  Just sleep.

He's alive in you, I know it.

You don't have nightmares as a dog.

I need sleep.  Just to numb the pain.

Sleep is good.

Sleep is very good.

I could sleep forever.

I could sleep all day.

But I can't sleep forever—I need to know what to do...

I can't sleep all day—sweetheart, you'll be starting school soon...

What can I possibly do in here?

I hope you make lots of friends.

Fudge?  What's he doing here?

I hope you keep them forever.

Why are you looking at me so funny?

You deserve all the friends in the world.

No, I don't think I'm crazy.  And no, I don't know why I'm not crazy.

I had the best friends in the world... I married my best one...

I wish I had said that to your face.

I married my best friend...

Can I have your newspaper?

He's dead.

Oh Lord.

My best friend is dead.

It's him.

My husband's dead.

He's alive.

He's dead.

I have to get out of here.

If he had a grave, everyone in the world would spit on it and curse his name.

_I know what to do._

But they pitched his body into the sea.  They do that to everyone there.

_I know what to do!_

Sirius, your daughter doesn't hate you.

Peter, you bastard, I'm going to get you.

Sirius, your daughter knows the truth.

Peter, you bastard, I'm going to make you pay.

At least she knows all of the truth that I know.

Peter, you bastard, you pathetic little slug, I'm going to kill you.

And I know you were innocent—I can feel it.

They're coming again… this is the only time I've been glad they're coming...

I don't know who you made the Secret-Keeper instead, but I don't believe it was you.

Come on you bastards; open the door...

Sirius, I love you.

I'm out.

I've always loved you.

_I'm finally out._

I'll keep fighting for you.

Run!  Run!  Run!  Down the hall!  Out the door!  

I'll do my best to be strong.

Down the stairs!  Through the gate!  Off the cliff!

I'll keep fighting for James and Lily.

Swim!  Don't care if it's freezing!  Just swim!

I'll keep fighting for our friends.

You're not getting tired!  Just swim!

I'll keep fighting for our daughter.

Swim!

I know that wherever you are, you love our daughter.

Almost there!

You love your friends.

Almost...

You love me.

_Almost..._

I love you—

THERE!

I love you—

Damia, babe, I'm going to get him for you. For you and our baby.

I love you.

But I can't come to join you yet...

But I can't come to join you yet...

I need to take care of Harry.

I need to take care of Holly.

You would want me to.

You would want me to.

Lily, James, I'm going to get Peter for you.

I need to be there for her.

I'm going to take care of your son for you.

Just know that I love you and I always have.

I'll make sure you didn't die in vain.

Remember that night by the fire?

You didn't.

When I first told you I loved you?

Damia, babe...

I dream about that every night.

You and our baby didn't either.

I pray to God that I'll see you again...

I'm going...

I somehow know that I will...

You will always be with me.


	17. Life Goes On

Yaaaaay!  No more writer's block… for now… let's hope this lasts.  I always feel inspired to write when I have tons of work to do.  College will do that to you.  But now that the winter semester is almost over, I hope I'll get a whole lot more done.  I've recently re-read the early chapters in this story, and I came to the conclusion that half of this piece of work SUCKS WORSE THAN A 10-POUND LEECH!  I can't believe I ever wrote such crap!  On top of how much it sucks, there is a major inconsistency halfway through (can you find it?)  So, I love you if you've stuck with it for this long.  I think I'm going to totally rewrite the first chapters and maybe add some more to the beginning when I finish this masterpiece.  Ahh, editing.  The most torturous ordeal for a writer, but in the end, the most satisfying.  

I've honored my old high school by giving Holly's school our colors of blue and gold.  Also, I think it's kind of cool that my college mascot is an owl.  I'm gonna have to work that in too.

By the way, there's a little paragraph in here that's based on a few lines from an Incubus song.  This song reminds me greatly of how Sirius must feel soon after escaping.  See if you can find it!

Enjoy Part 2.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

PART 2

Chapter 17

At three in the afternoon, on the 24th of July, twelve years after her husband had been thrown into Azkaban, Damia Black was in a much better mood than usual.  

          She had been fighting serious clinical depression on and off ever since she had been relocated to Massachusetts, so these moods were a rarity.  Granted, there were still things that worried her sick: the situation of Remus, Kalli, and Allie; Harry Potter in the hands of his relatives; Dumbledore and why he never answered her letters… the list went on for a good while.  She had long ago given up on sending any more letters overseas; no one answered them, and Athena kept returning in worsening health every time.  Damia had decided years ago that there was no point in trying any longer, and this seemed fine with Athena, who now slyly fluttered away whenever she saw Damia approaching with a piece of paper in her hand.

          Damia still kept her library job at the Massachusetts Academy of Magic, and that had brought her gradually increasing income as the years went on.  She greatly enjoyed it there, partly because she loved books, but mostly because she got to see Holly much more often.  The girl had inherited her mother's love of books, and she loved to peruse the oldest books in the library from time to time, interestedly reading about ancient spells that could be still quite useful, or discovering some forgotten magical fiction novel.  She was eleven now, and had just finished her first year of school.  

The school itself looked like a rather large Tudor mansion with vines growing up the outside walls and almost covering the diamond-paned windows, but the inside was much larger, with almost two hundred rooms, only about half of which were used by the school.  The rest were unused and locked for the time being...  in fact, no one Holly knew of knew how to unlock them, or what was in them.  They were the subject of many rumors among the students.  The student body was rather small, with about two hundred students and twenty teachers.  The atmosphere of the whole place hardly felt like a school, and more like a giant house where crowds of children aged eleven to eighteen lived and learned.

          Damia didn't know why she was in such a good mood as she moved through the stacks of books, replacing those that had just been returned, but she hummed a discordant tune, and breathed in the delicious dusty smell of aged paper.  The school year was over now, but some students had been late in bringing back their books from studying for exams.  She was the only one working today, so she belted out melodies to songs she barely knew without shame.

Little did she know that this was the day Sirius's paws had dragged his wet, salty, skinny canine form up on the sand of a small beach in northeast England.  

He was very weak.  As a dog, he had swum many miles from the island fortress of Azkaban, which he was very unlikely to have been able to do as a human.  Exhausted, he collapsed in the liquidy sand, his canine tongue tasting the salty water.  Despite the warm shallows, he was very chilled by the cold, deeper water he had swum through, so he pulled himself as far up the sand as he could manage before he collapsed again.  

Even as a dog, he had been able to feel the Dementors' presence, depending on how close they were to him at the time.  He had sometimes stayed a dog for months on end in prison, when he feared that he was beginning to lose it as a human.  But now, he was miles away from them, and their lack of presence in his mind made him feel almost confused for a moment, but after that he felt something he thought he had forgotten how to feel: a warm wave of comfort.  His mind was now free, or at least much less trapped than it had been in twelve years.  In his dog form, he made little puppy sounds, like the sounds they make when they're playing outside with human children.  It was the sound dogs and puppies everywhere make instead of laughing.

This unfamiliar happiness gave him the strength he needed to transform back to his human self.  He did, and rolled over on his back in the wet sand and made a sand angel, smiling blissfully, rejoicing in the warm summer waves.  It wasn't a very sunny day, but to him it could have been blizzarding, windy, freezing, and pitch black, and it still would have been the most beautiful day of his life.  

He stood up.  His only clothes were a tattered, gray robe, one of the two he had been given when he was sent to Azkaban.  He looked around; the beach was fairly small, and was surrounded on three sides by hills and woods.  He couldn't hear the sound of any cars.  He listened closer; all he could hear were some distant birds, and the splashes of little waves on the beach.  He was alone.  But this was just fine with him.  

He took his robe off, and dropped it on the sand.  Naked, he looked himself over. 

_Jesus, what happened to me?_ he thought, _I'm a damn skeleton._

His skin was very pale, and he noticed how much weight he had lost; his soft little tummy he used to have was now almost concave, and he could count every one of his ribs without feeling them.  His knees looked very knobby now because of his skinny legs.  His arms had lost muscle tissue; he noticed how much they still ached from swimming.  His hands… they unnerved him, how different they looked now, though he couldn't recall what had changed about them.  He couldn't remember his fingers being so long, or his nails being shaped that way… how had they been before?  He couldn't remember.

He felt his face.  He hadn't shaved since he had been put in Azkaban, so he had twelve years' worth of beard and hair.  It was so long it went down to his elbows.  He couldn't tell where his beard ended and his hair began.  He felt its black coarseness; how unfamiliar it was to him, though it had come on gradually.  He felt like it was the first time he really noticed it.  And the mustache… that was unfamiliar too.  

He moved his tongue around his mouth, noticing how painful some of his teeth were.  He hadn't been able to care for them much, and due to this neglect, some of them were now either very loose or very painful.  He wondered for a moment… could some wandless magic help?  He tried a simple numbing trick using his hands.  That helped noticeably, though he had never been much of a Hand Wizard, and he still felt very rusty using magic.  

He ran his hand over his hair again, and he noticed how his whole head felt greasy.  He had never bathed the time he was in there either, except for a large tin of murky seawater brought to him every couple of weeks.  That never did much good, and he usually ignored them anyway.  He had grown accustomed to his unclean scent by now, but he still felt it was high time he had a proper bath.  And look—the whole ocean at his disposal!

He dug his toes into the sand, and felt the warm wind at his face, tingling every inch of his body.  The wind grew stronger, and he leaned into it, closing his eyes and letting it kiss his face.  At that moment, the sun came out strongly, and he delighted at how beautifully the sea glittered, like a shower of diamonds strewn across a deep blue carpet.

He reached high above his head and stretched every muscle in his body; his back arched like a cat and his fingers and toes wiggled in the wind and the sand.  The tide was coming in, and had reached his feet.  He gave a short, hoarse laugh, and sprinted into the warm waves.  The water licking at every inch of his skin was more delightful than any feeling he could ever remember.  He went out to where it was waist-deep, and he swam back and forth for a while, almost whooping aloud at how the warm water felt rushing past his skin.  He scrubbed his hands through his hair, determined to get it clean, or as clean as he could get in salt water.  When he grew tired, he sat down so the water was up to his neck, and he let the waves rock him back and forth of their own accord.  

He stared off into space, thinking.  He had the strange feeling that he had to meet someone… he hadn't seen him or her for years, but they would be delighted to see him again… or no, that was a recurring dream he'd had while in Azkaban.  It was about… a woman… brown hair… tall… lovely smile… Wait a minute, wasn't that woman Damia?

His wife, Damia.

His newfound happiness suddenly drained out of him.  He couldn't meet Damia again… she was dead.  She and their daughter… wait, had there been a daughter?  He wasn't sure... no, he didn't know what the gender was; the baby hadn't been born yet.  He would have been a father by now, but Damia and the baby had been killed… killed by the Ministry.

"Oh God, Damia," he moaned aloud.  Or, he tried to say.  All that came out was a hoarse croak.  _Is that my voice?_ he thought, _when was the last time I've spoken aloud?  _He couldn't remember.  He coughed hard and tried again: "My name is Sirius Black."  It came out as a whisper.  

What else couldn't he do now?  What else couldn't he remember?  He couldn't remember many things.  His mind, which had been in a strangely terrifying stupor for the past decade was suddenly awake and buzzing with new wild thoughts.  He couldn't take them all at once.  

He scrubbed his hair violently again, determined to rid it of any contamination from that horrible place he had come from.  He was hoping it might also rid his inner being of contamination as well.  When his scalp began to hurt, and he began to realize how chilly the water really was, he came to his senses.

He hadn't escaped Azkaban to frolic nude in the ocean.  Yes, Damia and the baby were dead, but there was nothing he could do about it now except mourn for them.  Now, he had a purpose… what was it again?  Oh yeah, the rat was still alive.  He's going to Hogwarts, after Harry.  He's going to be at Hogwarts.  

Emboldened by his new mission, he stood up, strode up the beach, and picked up his robe, throwing it on over his wet body.  Something fell out of it, onto the sand.  It was part of the newspaper Fudge had given him.   The portion he had kept had the picture of the family on vacation, with the rat on a boy's shoulder.  He would need that for later.  He stuffed it into his robe, and before he could straighten it, he had transformed back into a dog, and was running up the hill into the woods.

Four days later, Damia was home alone.  It was Saturday, which meant it was housecleaning day.  The household took turns every week on who was to bear the brunt of it, and this week landed on Damia.  Jemima, Holly, and Damia's mother had finished already, and had taken off for the afternoon to do some shopping.  A great Muggle fad had swept the school the past year, and Holly had insisted on wearing Muggle clothes as much as she could, when she wasn't wearing the required uniform of sea blue robes trimmed with gold.

It was the brightest part of the day as Damia was doing the laundry.  She was in the large backyard, which was hidden from view by a copse of trees on one side, and a row of hedges on the other.  Her activities were perfectly hidden to any Muggles as she worked.  She threw a load of dirty clothes in a large wooden tub, then put some powder detergent in and waved her wand to fill it with water and scrub them on a washboard by themselves.  When that was started she picked up a basket of wet, clean clothes and carried it over to the clothesline nearby.  She waved her wand again and the clothes flew to the line, attaching themselves with clothespins in neat rows.  That done, Damia folded the clothes on the line that had dried into a large wicker basket, and carried it into the house through the back door.  She glanced at the day's mail on the kitchen table, but didn't go through it until she had separated each person's clothes into piles on a table by the stairs.  

The _Druid's Journal_ was at the bottom of the pile, but once she picked it up, she immediately saw a disturbing picture that took up a great deal of the page.  It was a man with a shrunken, wasted face, who was so pale that for a second Damia thought it was a corpse, until she noticed the sunken eyes which he blinked slowly at her.  It was the only part of the picture that moved.  The man's hair was very long—matted and tangled with his long beard and mustache.  He looked like he hadn't eaten, bathed, or shaved in years.  The man's eyes had such a haunted look about them that it made Damia shiver.

Now curious as to what the man had done to get him on the front page, she started to read the story that accompanied the picture.

"_The wizarding world has been proud of its low crime rate for hundreds of centuries.  Of course, there have been times of hardship due to one despot or another, but violence amongst ourselves was always kept at a bare minimum.  But this all changed when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came to power almost twenty-five years ago.  His reign of violence frightened and terrified most of the witches and wizards on earth, and most of them living in Great Britain were affected personally by the crimes of his supporters.  Therefore, when the infant Harry Potter unknowingly caused his overthrow twelve years ago, the entire magical world rejoiced for weeks on end. _

_But all miracles must come with some sacrifices.  On the same night of his lord's overthrow, the criminal Sirius Black retaliated by murdering twelve Muggles and one wizard by the name of Peter Pettigrew in a Muggle street.  Numerous eyewitnesses saw him commit this atrocity; therefore, he was one of the few wizards in magical history to have been given a life sentence to Azkaban prison without a trial.  And there he has stayed._

_For twelve years, the wizarding world lived in comfort of this wizard's lifetime sentence to Azkaban.  That is, until now.  At 2:30 p.m., on Tuesday afternoon earlier this week, English Ministry of Magic officials were informed of Sirius Black's breakout from Azkaban.   _

_Having been the first person ever to escape from this formerly impenetrable fortress, experts are at a loss as to how he managed to—_

Damia stopped reading here.  This could not be possible.  She had been told he was dead, killed right after Holly had been born, trying to escape Azkaban.  How could he have escaped four days ago?  Fudge had written to her—

_No_

He had lied.

Sirius wasn't dead.  He was alive—there was his picture on the front page.  She could see the resemblance now.  It killed her, but she knew it was him.  He was so unhealthy… he looked like the living dead.  She saw resemblances in him… there was the shape of his nose, the shape of his eyebrows, his forehead… but that was all.  Those eyes weren't his.  The shape of his face wasn't like that; it wasn't that gaunt.  His hair… his hair had never been like a lion's mane.  But his eyes—they were what frightened her most—it was as if someone had gouged out his friendly brown irises and stuck in two ping-pong balls with black marbles inside.  They frightened her—so much that she dropped the paper to the floor with shaking hands and backed away, wild-eyed.  

"_Oh my God,_" she moaned.

What was she to do now?  Waves of anger at Fudge and the Ministry were cursing through her, and yet she had the strangest sense of both excitement and despair.  Sirius was alive… he looked horrible, but he wasn't dead, he was alive… There was still hope… still hope!  Unless... unless it all was true, what the papers said.  Unless it was true that Sirius was a murderer, a traitor, and a husband who could care less about his wife and child. 

_NO_, she suddenly thought.  _That wasn't true.  I know it._  

She suddenly had to go to the bathroom.  No, screw that, she had to get out of the house.  She had to tell someone what had happened, but who would believe her?  Everyone else, even her own mother believed what the papers said.  

Damia looked at her watch.  Her family had only been gone for an hour, and knowing the way Holly was with shopping, it would be at least another before they came home.  Suddenly an idea came to her.  In the attic were things of hers and Sirius's she had packed away shortly after moving in to the large farmhouse.  Gifts they had given each other, heirlooms of his mother's family, and boxes of pictures ranging form their early Hogwarts days to the night before the Fidelius Charm had been cast.

Suddenly determined, she ran to the third floor of the house, where there was a secret stairway behind a bookcase that led to a portion of the attic.  This was where her mother, aunt, and daughter found her two hours later.

When they asked her what she was doing, she told them that she was just rummaging, and asked Holly to stay behind to help.  

Then she told her everything.

When they didn't come down to supper five hours later, Damia's mother went back up to check on them.  She found them both in silent tears, with pictures of Sirius strewn across the floor all around them.  They didn't hear her come in, and she could see the picture they were looking at now.  There were three people sitting on a couch… three women… two of them holding babies… the woman in the middle was pregnant.  The picture moved—the two babies squirmed in their mothers' laps, and the women smiled sadly.  Damia put that picture down silently (apparently they had been looking at it for a long time) and picked up another.  This looked like it had been taken around Christmas.  There was a snowball fight going on… with a man on each side of a large yard and a group of children with each of them.  Another man was sneaking around behind one snow fort, brandishing a wand in front of him and magically directing a huge snowman toward the fort.  When the children noticed it, they scattered away, but the other man by the fort was nearly buried in snow as the snowman attacked the fort and broke into powder.  Holly giggled quietly.

"That's your dad," said Damia, "the one over there," she pointed to the man who had directed the snowman to the fort, and was now dancing around with glee, "it was our wedding anniversary, and Dad, Remus, and James got drunk and had a snowball fight with all of the kids there.  James and Lily threw a Christmas party at their house that night… the last time I saw him was there, in the wreckage of that house, right after they had been killed." Her voice broke.

"Damia?" he mother said softly.  Damia turned around to her.

"Oh… hi, Mum," she said, "I'm telling her." 

Her mother nodded, understanding.  Holly had never known about her father.  She had only been told that he had died when she was a baby, and she knew the subject was too painful to bring up with her mum.  

Damia's voice broke again, and her mother asked it she was all right.  Damia nodded, and then tried to speak casually again.  "Did you read the _Journal_?" she asked.  Her mother shook her head no.  "Go read it.  The story on the front page.  I've already told Holly about it.  She knows."  Damia's mother was nonplussed by these strange sentences, but she nodded anyway.

"Are you coming down to dinner?" she asked.

"Yes, in a little while.  I'm not very hungry, though, are you hon?" she turned to Holly.

"No," Holly whispered.  Damia's mother nodded again and closed the door behind her.

Sirius didn't know how he had done it, but he had made it to Little Whinging.  He had never given dogs the credit they deserved as to how fast it was possible for them to run.  It took him about sixteen and a half hours to run 250 kilometers including rest times.  Looking back, he didn't know how he'd done it.  He was pretty darn lucky he could transform into a dog, because there was absolutely no way he would have been able to run so fast as a human, and he felt he needed to get to Little Whinging as quickly as possible.  He gave his canine alter ego a mental scratch on the head.

He remembered Hagrid telling him that he was taking Harry to his aunt and uncle's house, and he remembered that they lived in Little Whinging, Surrey.  But other than that, he had no idea how to find them.  Lily had never mentioned where in Little Whinging her sister lived after she had married this Dursley man.  

By now it was early morning, and he was roaming the streets of the town, trying to figure out how he could find where Harry lived.  He didn't think he should go out among the public streets, (although he enjoyed the attention he got from dog lovers he met) because he was worried that someone might think him a stray, and bring him to a pound.  But he didn't have much of a choice now, and anyway, he discovered that if he trotted cheerfully behind some unsuspecting pedestrian, it would look like he belonged to somebody and was happily spoken for.  

He managed to find a woman walking briskly along.  He stepped in behind her and walked in time to her steps, so she wouldn't hear him.  This worked well for a few minutes, until he lost his footing on a broken stone.  The woman turned, and when she saw what was following her, she glowered menacingly at him.

"Go away!  _Yelch_!  You disgusting beast!" and she hurried away.

There was no doubt that he knew who this woman was.  He remembered a blonde, thin, large-toothed woman remarkably like her at James and Lily's wedding.  This was Lily's sister, Petunia.  And where she lived, Harry lived too.

Petunia was heading toward a parking lot, where she stopped at a car, unlocked it, climbed in and slammed the door shut.  Sirius knew he had to follow her, but he was still tired from running so quickly from the beach, and he didn't want Petunia to suspect the strange dog following her again as she drove.

_The hell with it,_ he thought, and started off.  

She didn't go very far or very fast, thankfully for him.  The house in the suburbs where she finally parked wasn't far from the town.  Sirius hid out of view as he watched her unload some shopping bags from the car and go inside.  He looked at the name on the mailbox: _Dursley_.  He noticed that the street and number were 4, Privet Drive.  He would remember that; he needed to remember where Harry was when he wasn't at Hogwarts.

He tried to catch a glimpse of Harry all day, but he didn't see him.  He did see a man who he suspected was Dursley leave in the car and come back a while later with a large woman who resembled a hairy, purple tweed hippo.  

He had to leave soon.  The street was lined with houses on both sides, and there wasn't a good place where he could stay for a long time and keep his eye on the Dursley house.  He would have to keep moving.  But he would be back.  He had to see Harry.

For the next week or so, he would come by often to Number Four to see what was going on, but no child ever came outside while he was there.  He began to be afraid that Harry didn't live there at all, until one night about a week later.  

That night he was wandering around Magnolia Crescent, a few streets away from Privet Drive.  Even as a dog, he was thoroughly depressed.  His plan was going nowhere.  Just as he was beginning to wonder if he would have to give up and start the long trek to Hogwarts without seeing Harry first, he faintly heard something.  With his enhanced dog hearing, it sounded a lot like someone dragging something heavy across pavement.  It grew closer, and Sirius realized that it was going to pass by his hiding place in a small alley between a garage and a fence.

Soon, the figure of a small teenage boy came around a low wall on the corner of Magnolia Crescent.  He was dragging a large trunk behind him with difficulty, and finally collapsed onto the wall, panting audibly.  

This had to be Harry.  Sirius could see him clearly in the light of a streetlamp.  He looked remarkably like James and a little like Lily... and Sirius was sure that those were James's glasses he was wearing, the exact same ones Sirius had given Hagrid twelve years ago when he found him at the Potters' wrecked house.  His resemblance startled Sirius so much that he almost forgot to breathe.  Harry sat on the wall for a few minutes, looking fairly angry at first, which soon gave way to a much more scared expression.  He looked up and down the street, then down at his wand.  He opened his trunk and started rummaging through it.  He was clearly running away.  But before Sirius could even begin to think why, he saw Harry suddenly stand up straight, looking around nervously.  He held out his wand and looked behind him, right at Sirius.

"_Lumos,"_ Harry whispered.  The light that appeared at the end of his wand suddenly blinded Sirius, and he blinked and fell back.  He suddenly felt Harry's eyes on him, and he froze.  He saw Harry's surprised and frightened expression as he stepped backward and tripped over his trunk.  Sirius ran back down the alley at the same moment Harry hit the pavement.  Sirius heard a loud BANG noise, and stopped and turned around, hidden in darkness again.  A huge, purple bus had nearly run Harry over.  Sirius paused only to see that Harry was all right, and then took off at top speed down the alley and came out on Magnolia Circle.  It wasn't safe for him to stick around any more, but he had done what he wanted.  He had seen Harry.  Worry coursed through him for a moment at the thought of where he was going to go, but he was calmed when he stopped to think for a moment.  _If Harry's anything like his dad, he'll be all right.  The Knight Bus will drop him off somewhere safe.  James and I have been through situations more dangerous._

And with this thought, he set off down the street.  _Next stop, Hogwarts,_ he thought, _I got a long way to go, but if I succeed, it'll be worth it.  I've got a lot to do._

A/N: A little math for you:  Sirius (as a dog) can run approximately 30 kilometers per hour.  Where he washes up on shore is about 250 kilometers from Surrey (where Harry lives in Little Whinging).  Therefore, if he ran without stopping or slowing down, he would reach Surrey in 8 hours and 18 minutes.  Let's give him 8 more hours to rest along the way, since most dogs aren't endurance runners.  So it would take him about 16 and a half hours, am I right? Yahoooo, who needs college math!?


End file.
